For Better or For Worst Case Scenario
by Golden Arms
Summary: For one week, Nabiki was engaged to Ranma. Through the backfiring of a revenge plot by Ranma, their engagement was broken off and he and Akane got back together. What if things did not happen that way? What if Ranma's plan of revenge actually succeeded?
1. Be Careful What You Ask For

_**Ranma 1/2 and all related characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi. No disrespect intended for this simple fanfic.**_

For one week, Nabiki was engaged to Ranma. Through the backfiring of a revenge plot by Ranma, their engagement was broken off and he and Akane got back together. What if things did not happen that way? What if Ranma's plan of revenge actually succeeded as far as execution goes?

For Better or For Worst-Case Scenario

Chapter 1: Be Careful What You Ask For...

Fingers of sunlight tickled Ranma's eyelids as he slumbered. He grumbled as his consciousness stirred, then the rest of his being activated in an almost domino fashion. Automatically, one eye cracked open.

Immediately, he regretted doing so; it felt as if a thousand bees lanced his brain repeatedly with Amaguriken speed. He shuddered violently in agony, slamming the offended eye shut. His head throbbed for a moment more before fading; however, the pain hadn't disappeared completely.

He felt something move in his arms, snuggling against his chest warmly and sighing softly. It definitely sounded female; however, he was not very willing to open his eyes again and suffer the wrath of the sun god. So, in Ranma's mind, identifying whoever the person was through his other senses was the safest thing he could do with the least amount of pain inflicted on him. Or at least in theory. Hoping that it wasn't Shampoo (that incident caused far too much trouble for him at the time, and he rather not have a repeat of it), he used his fingers of one hand to feel out the unknown interloper.

It was very much female to his surprise (and horror); the good thing was, he did not feel any odango hairstyles, so Shampoo was definitely out. The hair did not feel very long, either, which removed a number of other girls, including Kodachi; sneaking into his bedroom in the middle of the night may not be above her, though she had not done so to his knowledge. Ukyo would not do such a thing either, or at least he hoped she wouldn't have. That would be... weird, for reasons which he could not think of at the moment; his head felt like it was splitting down the middle.

His hand sent more information to his sluggish brain for processing. Hair was definitely cut short, bobbed was the word, he thought to himself. Akane? The thought melted away when it came up. She was still mad at him, and all because of Nabiki. He would have to exact revenge on the brunette; the conversation he heard the other day revealed that she was playing him for a sap all last week. Maybe pretending he had fallen in love with her lock, stock, and barrel would be good enough; that would make her think twice before toying with Ranma Saotome again.

The hand was sending up way too much data for him to process at this rate, so he mentally told it to return back to wherever it had left from. There was a very pleasurable moan, almost a purring sound, coming from the female, probably invoked by where the hand relocated itself, but it was placed in the waiting line of his mind. Examining and filing away the information, he was proved right that it was not Akane; this person's hair was cut all wrong to be her bob. It was snipped angularly from the back to her collarbone. Plus her breasts felt bigger, judging from the way they were pressed against his body. Also, the stranger's body, while lean and toned, was not very muscular; even her derrière was softer, more rounded out. Whoever this person was, she was definitely no martial artist.

She was also naked.

...so was he.

It took well over ten seconds for the implications to finally register. The mental klaxons blared like banshees, which made his head hurt even more, but one thing was certain. The situation was bad, with an overwhelming, guaranteed potential to worsen.

There was no other choice; he had to open his eyes. Very cautiously, he pried them open little by little, tilting his head down and away from any source of light. His head throbbed with those accursed bees attempting to turn his brain into Swiss chess, but he forced himself to bear the pain in order to know just what was going on.

A bleary pair of eyes greeted Ranma. Blinking a little, he pulled back, examining the owner of those eyes. If he weren't so out of it, there would have been instant calamity right then and them. Instead, he simply said, "Hey, Nabiki."

"Hey yourself, Ranma," a groggy Nabiki mumbled.

Silence ensued. The two blinked dumbly at the other. Apparently, Nabiki's brain was just as sluggish as his was.

Obviously, hers recovered much more quickly than his, judging from the way her eyes grew wide like headlights. Suddenly, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Ranma's migraine intensified significantly at the sonic assault, so much that his vision seemed to shift and displace itself..

"What the hell are you doing in my bed!" she cried out, pushing the surprised young man away as hard as she could.

Already off-balance from Nabiki's scream, Ranma found himself tumbling to the floor violently. He bounced off the matted floor, rolled head over heels twice, and landed against the wall upside-down on his shoulders with his legs dangling just above his head. He moaned, feeling very nauseous. His brains were making a very good attempt to crack his skull open and run free around the room. "I wish you didn't do that..." he mumbled, wincing.

Nabiki mentally pulled up short, seeing his state of undress, then quickly checked her own body. "Oh, no... it didn't... it couldn't have..." she breathed. Frantically, she hopped out of her bed and flung back the covers. She sharply sucked in her breath, her eyes popping wide open as she stared at her bedcover

Nearly in the center of the sheets was an irregular, burgundy splotch, somewhat smeared about on the ivory fabric. A glittering nearby caught her eye and she quickly switched her attention to its source. It was coming from a small diamond refracting light in a spray of several colors. The precious gem was mounted in a facet of a golden ring adorning the ring finger of her left hand.

All color drained from Nabiki's face then. After spending several moments blinking at the unchanging scene, she sank down to her knees, muttering "It's all a dream" over and over. A tear quietly slid down along the side of her nose, then trail down the crease her mouth had formed as she chanted her flat, lifeless mantra.

Meanwhile, Ranma had righted himself and found a pair of white pants haplessly tossed into one corner of the room. Slowly, but surely, his brain began to make sense out of a lot of things, once he was able to battle the grating migraine into a sort of stand-off. First thing he noticed was that he was in Nabiki's room. Second thing he noticed, in addition to the discovery of the white pants, which he was putting on at the moment, was that there were other articles of clothing strung about like a hurricane had flung them around the room. An ivory tuxedo coat with a red smudge along the collar over here, a wedding dress with a broken zipper over there, a garter belt hanging on the doorknob, a pair of yellow-and-blue boxer shorts practically clawed off at the waistband lying alongside a pair of lacy white panties, shoes... and the faint scent of sake.

His mind froze in place. "No way... we didn't... how-"

A knock on the door slapped down most of his rising denials. "Son, are you two finally awake?"

Another woman's voice. It certainly wasn't Kasumi's; why would she call him "son" anyway? Curious, though leery of any more surprises, he approached the door like it was a fierce opponent, and cautiously opened it just wide enough to see the person on the other side.

Standing there was an older woman, looking to be in her early thirties. She wore a blue kimono with her auburn hair pulled up into a bun. Her blue eyes twinkled a bit as she smiled at Ranma exuberantly. "Son, I take it you and Nabiki-chan are ready for lunch now?"

He blinked. "Nabiki-chan? Lunch? Son?" Cocking his head to one side, the door swung open further as he more said than asked, "Mom?"

She nodded, smiling. "Yes, son?"

For a minute, Ranma just stood there gaping at his mother. His mind was completely devoid of any thought; better to be empty-headed than to scream about losing one's sanity. Then he allowed one thought to permeate his consciousness, and he promptly voiced it. "Uhh... does this mean, you know?"

"About the training trip to Jusenkyou?"

He paled a bit.

"Of course. Your father told me last night. I must say I was a little put off about you turning into a girl, but clearly that hasn't affected your manliness one bit." The way Nodoka beamed at her flesh-and-blood made him feel a little uncomfortable as well as somewhat embarrassed.

"It's nearly one o'clock," she informed him. Ranma blinked in surprise, but before he could say something in response, she went on. "You were so..." A blush suffused her cheeks while she beamed with pride. "...manly last night, your fathers and I decided to let you two sleep in today. Hopefully, you will contain your excitement better from now on. I doubt it if anyone managed more than a few hours rest with all the noise you and your lovely bride made last night."

"Excuse me?" Nabiki inquired, appearing immediately behind Ranma. She had wrapped a thin bed sheet around her previously nude body and was doing her best to control her attitude in her current state. She was performing poorly at the task.

Nodoka either did not hear her, or did not pay her any attention. "At any rate, Kasumi and I have prepared you two a very big lunch. We figured you'd need the energy. There's also a hot bath drawn, so relax and enjoy yourselves first before preparing to eat, though not too much." She gave Ranma a secret wink; he nodded dumbly in response. "And don't worry about the bed coverings; we'll take care of everything." Then she added in a low whisper, "I hope you were gentle with her, son."

It wasn't low enough for Nabiki's ears. She nearly fell over, livid at the very comment.

Ranma, still not up to speed with the current world, mumbled, "I... I guess."

Ranma's mother hugged him, fiercely. "Oh, son, you make me so proud! I'll be expecting lots of grandchildren, all right?"

If Nodoka weren't holding him, Ranma would have very well fell over. Nabiki, however, did complete her aborted tumble, thumping onto the floor.

The older woman looked down over the young man's shoulder and spotted her sprawled out. "Oh, Nabiki-chan, you're awake! I hope we didn't disturb your rest, dear," she said, releasing her son.

"No, not at all..." she responded, a touch of frost in her voice.

"Good!" Nodoka clapped her hands in joy, clearly unaffected by Nabiki's thinly veiled mood. "Well, I'll see you two downstairs later, all right?"

"Uh... sure, mom," a shell-shocked Ranma barely muttered.

"All right then." She bowed to both of them and quietly left the hall.

The door was closed firmly behind Nodoka, Nabiki's hand on the knob. "Ranma," she said with the most even tone of voice she could muster. "We must have a talk. Now." Her efforts were failing, judging by the little snarl on the end of her last word.

"Why me?" he muttered to no one in particular.

She spun him around until he was facing her. "Because this is your fault. All of it."

"Like hell it is!" he snarled, getting defensive. His brains gave him a quick reminder that loud noises were a bad thing at the moment, but he ignored the pain-filled warning. "I wasn't the one who decided to get engaged to you."

"You could have backed out of it."

"Yeah, right, like you would have let me."

"If I had known how stupid you were, I would have backed out myself!"

"Then why didn't you?"

"I don't know!"

They glared at each other for several seconds. Then something dawned on Ranma. "What are fighting about?"

Nabiki blinked. "You mean, you haven't figured it out?"

He scratched the back of his head, pondering. "Well, I kinda know that we got married yesterday-"

"And whose fault was that?" She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him.

"Hey, I wasn't the one who told my old man and Mr. Tendo to get a western-style wedding with the works set up by the next day!"

"I wasn't the one who proclaimed an undying love in a maze the day before, remember?"

Ranma started to open his mouth to fire off a retort, but closed it quickly. She was right, after he gave himself a moment to think it over. The whole "I love you" plan in the maze was suppose to be about revenge; however, it backfired. Nabiki should have been afraid and ran off, but instead she insisted on him telling everyone about the wedding that would be held the next day. It felt like another trick, but he could not be sure, so he did as she asked, watching for her reaction. She acted nonchalant about his news, which disappointed him. Then he overheard Nabiki converse with Kasumi again about the whole wedding plans. The older sister disproved of her toying with Ranma again, while she laughed it off. "Relax, Kasumi, Ranma doesn't have the balls to actually marry anyone. I'm not worried one bit."

Her comments raised the hackles on the back of his neck. Again, she was manipulating him. Well, so would he. Tit for tat. Point, counterpoint.

Of course, things didn't turn out that way, as evidenced by the morning's-correction-afternoon's antics. So what happened? Did she really want to marry him all this time? Ridiculous! But still...

"If this is what you wanted, then why are you so upset about it!"

That question caught Nabiki flatfooted; she did not expect him to think of that, so she did not have a reply ready. Two days ago, she had deduced almost immediately that his "great revenge plan" that had stirred her imagination was just another lame Ranma Saotome trick. It irked her that she was foolish enough to actually believe that he really would harm her for all the pranks she pulled on him; he was too soft in that respect. So, as a counterattack, she told him to announce to everyone and the wedding that was planned for the next afternoon. It was rather surprising that he had done it and it was even more of a shock that their fathers manage to corral everything needed for a western-styled wedding (including invitations and catered foods) to the dojo for the next day's "glorious" event, but she landed on her feet and made sure the wedding would be a total bust. She personally delivered wedding invitations to Ukyo, Shampoo, and Kodachi, knowing full and well they would demolish the festivities. She could yell at Ranma, blaming his fiancée troubles for everything, break off their engagement, let the ruined son find solace in Akane's arms, and everything would fall back to normalcy. She convinced a few of her friends to run a betting pool on the likelihood of one or all events happening; after all, she had to make something of a profit off of this whole scheme, as it was almost certain the money gifts the guests would bring would have to be given back. She felt so confident, she even told them to throw in a bet on she and Ranma actually getting married with a ten-to-one odds rate. Her plan was so easy, even an infant could pull it off.

Apparently, she must have been a newborn, because none of the expected catastrophes happened at all. Shampoo, Ukyo, Kodachi... none of the three showed up at all. Somewhere in the planning and execution, things went terribly awry, and the only hitch that occurred yesterday was her own. And it was all because of her pride, at that. If she was not so proud, she would have ended the ceremonies when it was becoming increasingly clear that no party crashers were arriving, and Ranma apparently wanted to be married to her. Either that, or he was baiting her with another lame trick and was incredibly stupid not to realize what they were walking into.

"Nabiki?"

She shook herself out of her thoughts at the sound of her name. "What is it now?"

'Um... my question-"

"Drop it, Ranma." She felt weary and old. Dealing with the new changes in her life was already sapping her strength. "I'm going to the bath now. Don't you dare follow me in."

There wasn't much force in her voice, but Ranma backed up all the same. "No problems outta me. Just hurry up; I wanna get cleaned up, too."

She ignored him, padding out of her room, parts of her mind still in a daze. So prideful... so stupid... the thoughts jogged about within her head, unable to differentiate themselves in her mind. So muddled in her own world, she nearly knocked over Kasumi as she was coming upstairs.

"Oh, my! You're awake now, Nabiki?"

"Nope, still dreaming." -_or rather, living in a nightmare_, she thought dourly to herself.

"I see. Is that why you are wrapped up in your bed sheet?"

Nabiki blinked, and looked down. "Dammit!" she swore under her breath, spinning around quickly and re-entering her bedroom.

Ranma, who was busy examining his shredded underwear, looked up as the middle Tendo daughter flung off her bed sheet to retrieve a bathrobe. She quickly jammed her arms into the sleeves, when she suddenly remembered her visitor. "What the hell are you doing here!" She snapped the front of her robe close as tightly as possible.

He grabbed his head with one hand. "You mind? My head's killing me here."

"I'm going to kill you if you don't get out of my room right now!"

"Like I really want to see you naked again!"

Infuriated, Nabiki grabbed a book off her table and let it fly at the young Saotome. "Get out!"

Ranma dodged the makeshift projectile, quickly heading toward the door. "Fine! Whatever! I'm outta here!" He stormed into his room across the hall.

Nabiki came out of her room in a huff. "Damn idiot..."

Kasumi covered her mouth to keep from laughing. "I hear that the adjustment period will only last for a month at most. Really, you could consider yourself lucky to be married to Ranma."

With a bit of effort, she forced her murderous thoughts of strangling her beloved older sister into the dark recesses of her mind. "So, Kasumi," Nabiki began, controlling her voice. "What's with the sudden change? The day before-"

"I know, I know. I was a little harsh on you then. But I've come to realize that Ranma seemed very eager to be wedded to you, so I decided not to be so critical. And I know you would not have followed through with it unless you were serious about the marriage as well."

Nabiki blinked. "Really?"

"Yes. At the reception, the way you two were drinking, I just thought you were overwhelmed with everyone's love and support. Even Auntie Nodoka could see it."

Again, Nabiki blinked. "Drinking?"

"It was the best sake Father could find. 'Nothing less than the best for my girls' he said as he helped organize everything."

"Okay... I think I'll be heading down to the bath house now."

"All right. Is Ranma joining you later?"

Again, Nabiki fought down the image of her hands around Kasumi's neck, shaking her like a rag doll.

* * *

"Great, we got drunk," Nabiki muttered to herself as she reclined against the bath's tiled walls. "We got drunk, and we... we..." She shivered unconsciously. It made her feel so uncomfortable admitting she had not just slept with Ranma, but they were so noisy, no one else could sleep either. She would never live it down. How Akane must have been feeling while having to listen—

Akane! her mind screamed, rousing Nabiki out of her depressed state. She sleeps in the room adjacent to hers, so she had gotten first-hand knowledge of—

She gasped, feeling what little hope she may have had slide into the hot water and dissolved completely. Even if she could get their marriage annulled, or, worse comes to worst, divorce Ranma, there was no way her little sister could ever truly accept her former fiancé after listening to him make love to someone else. Especially when the "someone else" was her own blood.

"Great, it just gets better and better," she muttered to herself. Then she brightened a little. "Well, at least the betting pool's cash will be of some comfort. It's not like someone was stupid enough to actually bet on us getting married."

* * *

"What!" Never in all of Nabiki's life had she been more cursed than what was thought possible. "Someone won the bet!"

The younger girl on the other line shirked from her "boss's" shriek. "Like I said, someone won the bet."

Nabiki willed herself to visibly calm down on the phone. "How many?"

"Just one."

"Good news at the least. Next question. How much?"

The other girl paused nervously, clearing her throat very slowly. "Twenty-five."

"Twenty-five yen?" The newly inducted Saotome wife breathed a sigh of relief. "A whimsical bet, no doubt. Hope against hope for the best outcome. For a moment, I was getting scared there."

"No, you don't understand... Twenty-five thousand."

The silence that chased after that sentence, those three little words, was deafening the middle Tendo daughter. She, however, was not paying it much attention, her concentration completely focused on the younger girl on the other end of the phone line. After what felt like eternity and two days, Nabiki's mouth finally began processing the massive traffic jam in her brain. "Twenty-five... thousand?"

"Yes." The answer cemented her thoughts. Some god or goddess up there must really not like her today.

"That's 250,000 yen that person won... How much did we take in yesterday?"

"Including the winner's bet, minus expenses, around 200,000 yen."

It took the married Tendo a minutes to collect herself again. "Now, who, exactly, won the bet?" She had to figure out a way to get that person to forget the whole thing; she didn't have 50,000 yen just lying around! No one was suppose to actually bet on her tying the knot in the first place!

"Um... #136. A Kay Tee."

Nabiki paused for a moment. "Kay Tee?"

"That's what it says. No name, just the initials Kay Tee."

"Well, call me immediately if this Kay Tee comes around to collect."

"But Nabiki, it's suppose to be your honeymoon."

"Never mind that! Just do it!" Angrily, she slammed the phone down onto the cradle. She was being mocked again, this time by her own underling! What deity force did she piss off, she wondered, fuming at her luck.

"Oh, Nabiki!"

She looked up from the phone to her sister. "Oh, what is it, Kasumi?"

"I need to borrow the phone. I have to call this number." She waved a blue slip of paper just in front of Nabiki.

"That looks familiar," the younger of the two said, more to herself, her eye casually tracking the slip.

"It should be. It is one of your gambling slips. Number 136."

"Oh, well, in that case-" The words slapped Nabiki fully awake. "Number 136!"

"Yes, dear sister. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to redeem this." Kasumi reached for the receiver.

"Hold it!" Nabiki proclaimed, jerking the cordless unit out from underneath her hand. "I want to know what the hell is going on here, 'dear' sister."

Kasumi gave her a blissful smile. "Why, Nabiki, I simply made a bet on your future happiness, is all."

Her eyes narrowed. "Bullshit. 25,000 yen is not a bet on future happiness; it's a fool's gamble, unless you're privy to some inside information."

Kasumi's smile seemed to broaden a little. Suddenly, Nabiki had an immense desire to beat her charming sister senseless as she could feel the cold realization of a trap snapping on her, rending her completely helpless to prevent change. It was a decidedly unfriendly feeling. She idly wondered if Ranma felt like this with her. Realizing where her thoughts had strayed, she quashed it immediately and gave her full attention to her angelic sister balancing her halo atop the points of her hidden horns.

"It wasn't easy, Nabiki, but I managed to learn some 'inside information.' I learned about how you planned on sabotaging your own wedding. As your sister, I couldn't let anyone do such a thing, even if it's the bride wanting such things to occur. So, I took care of matters."

Dread laid inside of Nabiki's stomach. "How?"

"It was rather easy. I spoke with Mousse and convinced the nice young man to slip Shampoo sleeping pills in her food at night, just enough for her to sleep into the afternoon of the next day. Also, I gave Kodachi a corrected invitation, saying the wedding was actually going to be held in Kobe."

Nabiki blinked. She knew her older sister was smart, but when did she get devious? "Okay, that took care of two obstacles. But what about -"

"Ukyo? I made a call to a health inspector whom I met a few times, and actually became friends with. He gave her a call afterwards, telling her to be at her shop for an inspection; otherwise, her business may well be shut down."

Nabiki took a long moment digesting all that information. She came to one conclusion. "I think I liked you better when you appeared to be vacuous and blissfully unaware of your surroundings."

Kasumi shrugged slightly. "In times like these, one must be very alert. Now, excuse me; I need to redeem this ticket." She held out her hand for the handset.

Nabiki gave her older sister a decidedly unfriendly glare, before speaking. "Don't worry about calling it in; I'll bring you the money later today."

"All right, little sister." Kasumi smiled again that sweetly evil smile. "I'll be outside hanging the laundry if you're looking for me." She turned around and left her sister standing in the living room.

Nabiki had never in her life wanted to kill Kasumi so badly as she felt at the moment.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ranma was sitting outside on the patio steps, gazing at the koi pond, his lovingly-prepared lunch half-eaten. His appetite was absent, partly from the subsiding hangover, partly from what he had just stepped into yesterday, and partly from realizing he was doomed. Akane, he hadn't seen at all today, mainly because she left for school while he was...

He couldn't force himself to finish that line of thought – the consequences were grave enough as they were. Silently, he looked up at the sky, praying to whatever deity _not_ laughing at him to have somehow spared Akane of his stupidity. And from hearing whatever went on in Nabiki's room. Maybe he could talk Shampoo into using that memory-erasing technique to wipe last night out of her—

Damn, he had completely forgotten about Shampoo and Ukyo. And Kodachi, as an afterthought. Maybe that same deity he was just praying to could take him now, and spare him a hideous death.

"Ranma, my boy."

The newlywed husband looked up at the voice of Genma, who sat down beside him. He held a small brown paper bag folded over. "So, how does it feel your first day of being married?"

"Horrible, dad."

The older Saotome chuckled heartily, patting Ranma on the back. "Oh, it takes some time getting used to the differences. It's not an easy path to walk, just like martial arts. Sometimes, marriage is fraught with more peril than The Art."

Ranma shook his head. "That's not what I meant."

Genma raised his empty hand. "Yes, son, I do know what you meant. Akane, right?"

The son nodded.

"She's stronger than you think. Like everything else, it'll take time. She'll get over it soon enough."

That wasn't the kind of answer he was hoping for. Then again, he hadn't really expected his father to come out and talk to him about marriage in the first place. It certainly was a surreal moment: real, true-to-life bonding over something other that martial arts with the old man. It made him feel funny, and he couldn't find the strength or courage to ask the real questions on his mind-like how the hell can he escape being married to Nabiki.

"Oh, by the way, I picked up something for you. It'll put to rest some of the burning questions you must have but are afraid to ask about right now." He handed over the brown parcel. As Ranma took it in wonderment, Genma got up. "Don't despair, boy." He went inside the residence, leaving Ranma alone with his thoughts.

Curiosity setting in, Ranma unfurled the packaging, dropping a box with a note secured around it by a rubber band. The note removed before looking at the box, Ranma read aloud. "'Family after high school. Ask for more as needed'? What the—" he started to say, turning over the box in his hand.

Nodoka was sipping a cup of tea when Genma came into the kitchen area. She set her cup down on the saucer. "So, did you—"

"CONDOMS FAMILY PACK!"

Nodoka heard her son's proclamation from outside and smiled. "I told you he may be concerned with starting a family while Nabiki is still in high school."

Genma nodded assertively. "Apparently so, my wife. That should ease his mind of worry."

"I agree. Tea, dear?"

"Yes, please."

* * *

The wedded Tendo was sitting in front of the television, seeing the images flash before her eyes, but not watching it at all. Ranma came in, looking around the room before spying her. Quickly, he approached his "wife."

"Nabiki, we gotta talk."

Her eyes focused to reality again, and she painstakingly turned around to face her "husband." "Oh, really, now, Ranma, baby? About what, pray tell?" She held up a hand before Ranma could open his mouth, then placed the tip of her index to her chin. "No, wait, let me guess; you've figured out yet another aspect of my life in which you can ruin. I'm overjoyed, really."

"Will you shut up and listen to me for once in your life! This is serious!"

"And you think I'm not?"

"Look, you think I like this any more than you do? Old man just gave me a bunch of condoms; you got any idea how embarrassing that is?"

"Oh, pooh, you were given condoms, so wha—" Nabiki's words went dead, giving way to a growing sense of freshly born horror.

Ranma considered getting Tofu to recommend a surgeon to sew his mouth shut. Every time he opened it, something bad invariably occurred. Like now, judging from the way Nabiki's face paled, like she was being turned into a Goth girl right before his eyes. "Uh, Nabiki—

"God damn you, Ranma." It came out so quietly, Ranma almost missed it. "You _did_ find another aspect of my life to ruin. You son of a bitch. Do you really hate me that much?" Her voice quivered as she spoke the last sentence.

"What are you talking about?"

"You getting me pregnant."

Ranma stared at her for a few moments. Then he smirked, confidence wafting through the room. "Oh, is that all you're worried about? No problem!"

Nabiki was really getting annoyed with people and their little secret smiles. She so much wanted to imbed her fist dead into her "husband's" kisser and ruin that smile forever. "What do you mean, 'No problem'? It's a very big problem!"

He dismissed he concerns with a wave of his hand. "Nabiki, there's no way you can be pregnant!"

An unexpected ray of light bore through the clouds of darkness surrounding Nabiki. She couldn't explain it, but the way Ranma beamed made her feel… hopeful. "How, why are you so certain about... this?"

Ranma grinned. "Everybody knows you can't get pregnant the first time you have sex with someone!"

The ray of light was devoured by the black hole Ranma's proclamation created in the living room. Habiki's eye twitched uncontrollably.

"Y-You... you..."

"Oh, don't thank me, Nabiki. I'm just glad I remembered what Hiroshi and Daisuke told me a while back."

"You... _idiot_!"

"Huh?" Ranma was confused. "What're you getting upset about? I told you—"

"Are you really that stupid, or do you practice everyday?"

"Hey!"

"You can get pregnant on the first try. Or if you practice the _rhythm_ method. Or if you pull out before ejaculation. Or if-"

Ranma was slowly backing away from Nabiki; she may have sounded calm and rational, but her body language was throwing out more screams and expletives than a ship of drunken sailors. Tears welled in her eyes like lakes on the verge of flooding during the rainy seasons. Worse, still, Ranma had no idea as to what to do, too afraid of stepping on another emotional landmine.

"I'm home..." Startled, Ranma and Nabiki looked at the front door as one. A now-dumbstruck Akane blinked back at the two, and time momentarily lost its hold over the living room. The memory, however, was burned indelibly in the minds of the three teenagers.

Just as suddenly as the whole world stopped in its tracks, time reasserted control, and life moved on.

Nabiki got up, unsteadily to the point she had to grab Ranma's shoulders to remain standing. Dropping her head to her chest, she spoke softly, her voice quavering. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Akane..." Tears tumbled down the married Tendo's cheeks, splattering on her clothes and the floor carelessly. "I..."

"Nabiki," Akane said, her voice trembling slightly. However, that seemed to have been too much for her sister, as she suddenly bolted for her room, stumbling and falling all the way up the stairs. She could only watch her flee the room, rooted to the spot on the landing. Then her eyes landed on Ranma, who had a completely lost look about him, eyes darting to the stairwell, and then back at her, his mouth moving, but no intelligent words were forthcoming. She rent her eyes from the scene, turning to go back outside.

"Akane, wait!"

"I'm going to the dojo, to train, Ranma. Go to your... your wife... She needs you."

The gravity of the words _your wife_ threatened to suffocate the young husband. Coming from Akane, they were daggers of ice, lancing through his spirit, and freezing him where he stood. He watched helplessly, as she quickly walked out the door on him, both literally and figuratively.

He crumbled into the couch, realization leaving him drunk and sickened. There was no easy way out for him. In fact, there was no way out at all. He was now married to a life of misery. Worst still, this was just the first day, and Ranma didn't know if he could make it through another one, since harder times were most certainly waiting around the corner, ready to bludgeon him at a moment's notice. He was trapped under the rock and a hard place, no room to breathe, or move without inevitable death looking to gain its pound of flesh.

_What do I do now?_ Ranma thought to himself, stifling his nonexistent tears harshly. _Men don't cry; they fix everything._ The problem was that he didn't know where to start. Perhaps it was time he had a long talk with those that have already been through this kind of thing before.

"Now, where did my parents go?"

_TBC_


	2. Aftermath Before Math

**_Ranma 1/2 and all related characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi. No disrespect intended for this simple fanfic._**

**For Better or For Worst-Case Scenario**

**Chapter 2: Aftermath Before Math**

**"Hey, Kasumi," Ranma said, poking his head outside, where the named person was busy pinning bed sheets onto the clothesline. "You seen mom 'n pops?"**

**She glanced over her shoulder, a pin between her seasoned fingers as she straightened out her latest quarry. "Oh, my, no, Ranma. Not since they left a little while ago."**

**"Oh. Know when they'll be back?"**

**"I suppose they may come visit in a few days," Kasumi said, snapping the pin shut onto the linen, imprisoning it on the line.**

**Ranma frowned. "Visit?"**

**She turned to face him fully. "Didn't Auntie tell you?"**

**"...tell me what?" He did not like the way the conversation was going.**

**"Last night, Auntie and Mr. Saotome had decided to return to their home and stay out of your and Nabiki's new life for the time being."**

**His eyes widened. "They just up and left me here?"**

**"It was decided that since you and Nabiki were now married, and you would inherit the dojo, it would be best to let you remain here and get adjusted to your new life without them interfering in yours and Nabiki's fun."**

**He blanched at the idea of him and Nabiki having "fun" in the way they probably meant. It would be a cold day in hell before he let himself get tangled in her bed sheets.**

**"Is there anything else you wanted to ask me?"**

**He shook his head. "Don't think I could take the answer if I did. Thanks, anyway, Kasumi."**

**"You're welcome, little brother."**

**Ranma coughed hard, as he almost choked on his own saliva upon hearing those words. _Little brother..._**

**Ranma looked at Nabiki's room door as if he was trying to peer through the wood fibers and see her directly. Since her emotional outburst downstairs, he really didn't want to approach her at the moment. He could imagine how she must have felt, though... well, not really, but their whole marriage must have really taken a toll on her almost as much as it's been affecting him.**

**For as long as he had been living in the Tendos' home, he could hardly think of a time he had seen Nabiki less than annoyed by anything. Not even his curse seemed to be that big a deal to her; of course that didn't keep her from foisting him onto Akane at the first chance she got. But outside of their initial meeting, she usually found some joy in tormenting him, or scheming a few bucks here and there at his expense. Just a few weeks ago, he would have thought Nabiki was one of the most heartless people he had ever met before. But now, seeing her so open, vulnerable... it wasn't an act, that much he knew. She was very much torn up, and he certainly was not making matters any better.**

**It was still her fault, though.**

**Damn her, why did she go to such lengths to have some petty fun on his account? Making him her fiancé, putting him in so much trouble with Akane, faking her love for him… She was just so frustrating. Now, he was apparently stuck with her… for life.**

**_Damn her…_ Turning on his heel, he trudged to his room. His hand reached for the door knob, but it turned on its own. Instantly, Ranma stepped back, formulating an aggressive-neutral stance, preparing for any physical threat that he could deal with. In fact, a good brawl was just the thing he needed to distract him from his current woes.**

**Unfortunately (for Ranma, anyway), it was only Soun emerging from the room. He gave the younger man a broad grin. "Son! I'm glad to have caught you now."**

**"Oh?" he said, relaxing his body.**

**"Your parents and I had talked last night and we agreed that it would be better for your father to return home to his wife, and let you begin your new life here with little interference from us."**

**"Yeah, I heard. Least I won't have to worry 'bout pops rolling on top of me at night."**

**"Indeed. Don't worry about your belongings; your mother placed them in Nabiki's room before they left."**

**The younger man staggered back a step, alarmed. "She did what? But-"**

**Soun clapped Ranma on both shoulders, chuckling heartily. "You're now a married man, son. It wouldn't do to sleep away from your wife, unless you've done something wrong, and she puts you out on the couch." He laughed, wrapping his arm around Ranma's shoulders, then suddenly jerked him in tightly around the neck. The Saotome heir blinked in surprise, then noted the grave smile that the patriarch brooked him.**

**"Of course, you won't do anything wrong with my daughter, will you, son?" His expression intensified, the well-developed arm growing taunt around the young man's neck.**

**Though the mock chokehold was irritating, the expression was what made Ranma afraid to resist the hold. "N-no, of course not, Mr. Tendo."**

**And like spring rain, Soun was beaming a sunny smile again. "No need to be so formal, son. We're related now."**

**"Um, okay... Father."**

**"That's the spirit!" Soun clapped Ranma on the shoulders once again.**

**Too bad the Saotome son looked more like he was haunted by wailing ghosts.**

**"I'm in hell." Nabiki was sitting at her desk with an open English book before her, giving her "husband" a sidelong glare as he, partly dressed in a white undershirt and his favored Chinese-styled pants, rolled out his tatami mat and plopped it in the corner farthest away from her.**

**"Think I'm in paradise here?" He glared back at her from his side of the room, unfolding the quilt and laying it down on the straw-crafted bed. He couldn't help but wonder why on earth did Nabiki wear cutoff shorts that short in the first place. **

**She absently pushed up the sleeve of her sweat shirt. "You're being a lot more passive about this than I would have dared hoped."**

**He simply grunted. "We're stuck right now. Probably for good, like this damn curse."**

**"Please." She turned back to her text, though she hadn't seen a word of it for the last ten minutes. "You're just not looking deep enough."**

**He frowned deeply, sharply looking at her. "You figure out something, then." He quickly added, "Or is whining and bitching the best you can do?"**

**The words stung Nabiki more than she cared to admit, but she was not about to let him know that. Or to have the last word. "So, you are just going to accept things, just like a dutiful little girl would... I see."**

**Predictably, a jab at his curse and masculinity incensed him. "What you say?"**

**She spun around languidly in her office-type chair, bare feet stopping her so that she faced Ranma directly. "It's only been a day; there's a way out of this, and we can put everything back to normal. So stop being a weak, little girl about this."**

**A tic began dancing a jig underneath his eye, his fingers flexing rapidly, making small, sharp cracking sounds. For a moment, Nabiki wondered if that last comment was just a little too much. The she frowned to herself_. That kind of thinking is what got me in this mess in the first place. He really won't harm me..._ And to convince herself just that, she leaned in, smiling. "Or do you intend on hitting me like the coward you are?"**

**This time his knuckles sounded like he was breaking walnuts barehanded. Again, Nabiki wondered if that comment was just a little too much. A search for the voice of reassurance that was there a second ago discovered it cowering in a corner of her mind.**

**Just went she started to berate herself for being so stupid, Ranma suddenly relaxed. This, in turn, gave her cause to turn off the panic switch that was tripped. She even felt a little foolish for doubting her instincts.**

**"You know... you really like having your back rubbed, don'tcha?"**

**She almost fell out of her chair, so sudden the conversation changed directions. Her mind reeled from the comment, and she fought hard to get her thoughts together. "Where the hell did that come from!"**

**He shrugged nonchalantly. "Dunno. Just something that came to mind. Probably from this morning, or something."**

**"A fine time to be mentioning that. Are you going somewhere with this line, or are you just wanting to get in my bed again?"**

**He glared at her. "Like hell. I'd sooner have sex with Kuno as a guy before I'd ever want back in your bed again."**

**"Hmm... Claim you are gay... That could work."**

**He scowled. "Forget it; I ain't pretending to be a fag, not even to get out of being married to you."**

**"Oh, it's not like you have to really kiss boys as a boy, Ranma. I'm pretty sure I can find someone that can doctor a few candid-"**

**"Will you just shut up about that? That's not even the point!"**

**Nabiki frowned. "Pity, and that would have solved everything, too."**

**He sighed. "God, you're such a selfish bitch. Playing more stupid games, even now."**

**She tried to ignore his words. "Look Ranma—"**

**He thrust his hand up, cutting Nabiki off. "No, you look. You think you know everything, but I know something you don't."**

**"Oh? That would be...?"**

**"Akane already gave up on me."**

**Nabiki didn't speak. For a long moment, she only studied Ranma's face. The subject felt more like a bug under a magnifying glass. She finally drew breath through pinched lips, then spoke. "How do you know that?"**

**"Well, she just said that... that my _wife_ needs me now. No Nabiki, no sister... just _wife_." He slumped down on his bedroll, his features arrested.**

**The quietude of the room after that only served to loudly ring Akane's words inside Nabiki's head.**

**She looked off out her window. "Ranma, get the fuck out of my room."**

**He rose to his feet without complaint. "I'm going to the dojo tonight, but I gotta start sleeping here tomorrow; I really don't wanna deal with your dad."**

**Her response was a thrust of her index finger pointed to the door. She never looked at him. She only heard him pick up a few things, and the door closing behind him.**

**She wished she didn't have to hear herself cry, though.**

**Ranma breathed a sigh of relief. That battle with Nabiki was more exhausting that his learning the Hiryu Shoten Ha or Kachu Tenshin Amagurikin. She almost got him, though; he really did want to hit her at that moment. Or rather, he really wanted to hit something, and Nabiki was literally marking herself as an appropriate target. Knowing her, it was probably just another plan to get out of their marriage. **

**But did they all have to end up with him getting disgraced in some fashion or another while she comes out like a rose?**

**_Selfish bitch,_ he thought to himself. On that, he set up his bedding, made sure the lights were turned off, and resolved himself to never get tangled with anyone even remotely like Nabiki for the rest of his life. Or in his next one.**

**"Whoever said dreams are the key to solving our problems is a moron," Nabiki said to herself, still laying in bed. She shuddered, recalling the dream that essentially roused her mind into the waking world. The images were disturbing: she was wandering around in a giant expanse of darkness -- staggering really, as she had a long, slender sword rammed through her torso, the ornate handle just visible from beneath her breasts - calling for help. The blood never stopped pouring from the wound, each step causing it to ooze and squirt whenever she stumbled, which was quite often. Logically, she should have stopped and done something about it. However, whenever she tried, she was attacked by the wolves.**

**They stood out against the darkness, their furs black as onyx. Predatory ruby eyes gleamed with a level of malevolence, hunger, and bloodlust. And they could certainly not miss the smell of her blood. Anytime she paused for longer than a second, they would pounce, forcing her to run away from their snapping ivory fangs and continue her lurching. They never attacked her otherwise, though she could just see them nearby, three that she made out. One on each side and one nipping at her heels whenever she wavered her stride. It was like they were herding her, driving her towards... towards...**

**The rest of the ethereal dream vanished the longer she remained awake. She didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse in disguise. However it measured up, Nabiki knew that today was not going to be an easy day. First day back to school since she and Ranma were married, and she dreaded the inevitable questions that would occur.**

**No, scratch that, she was more afraid of her reactions to them. Yesterday had shaken her world nearly to its foundations, and the flood of tears did little to clean up the mess left behind in the assault. And something the middle Tendo - correction, married Tendo – until she could come up with something – knew, if nothing else, was that she did not want to relieve those moments anytime soon.**

**Grumbling, she pulled herself out of bed, exaggeratedly stretching and yawning, then scratched her leg before locating her bath things and her school uniform. _May as well get the day over with._ The people would want to know the truth, and she needed to fabricate one for their inquiring minds.**

**"Thanks, Kasumi," Ranma said as she passed him a bowl of rice. He snared himself a piece of baked fish and proceeded to eat.**

**"You're welcome," she replied, then turned to her father, who had his nose buried in the morning news paper. "Would you like anything?"**

**"Nothing for me at the moment." He sipped some of his coffee, and turned the page. "Where are your sisters?"**

**"Akane had already left for school early this morning. Nabiki may be still getting ready for school."**

**"Actually," the subject of the latter sentence said, standing in the doorway of the dining room. "I was just looking for my dear husband."**

**Ranma coughed violently, having accidentally sent some rice and fish down the wrong passage. He pounded on his chest a few times to help clear the mix up.**

**"Aw, honey, are you all right?" she said, smiling at him.**

**He cleared his throat, eyeing her warily. "Just fine. What do you want?"**

**"I had wanted to leave for school early enough to talk to our classmates about our marriage so we aren't late."**

**Now Ranma looked at Nabiki as if left arm was suddenly replaced with a blue tentacle. "Are you feeling well?"**

**"Never better since you walked into my life. Please finish eating, dear."**

**"I... think I'm done for now..." He thanked Kasumi, who it turn supplied both him and Nabiki their lunches. He was convinced it was going to be his last meal, at that. Nabiki, happy to be married to him? Calling him dear? Surrendering to—**

**"I can't believe you actually fell for that load of shit."**

**He blinked into the present, fixing a bewildered gaze on Nabiki. They were far away from the house, treading the old path to school.**

**She smirked. "Here I am, lying my ass off to the family, and I thought you were smart enough to recognize that." She then looked at him flatly. "Or did you forget that I'm a selfish bitch?"**

**He frowned. "And I think I gotta make that title longer, now."**

**"I'm going to let that slide, because I am feeling much better. I have a plan."**

**"A plan for what?"**

**"My, we have to work on your short-term memory."**

**Ranma was clearly annoyed. "Just spit it out."**

**"You're no fun in your old age. Whatever happened to that spark we had on our wedding night?"**

**He gritted his teeth. "That's enough of this shit..." His expression went from frustrated to sinister quickly. "...dear wife."**

**The jabbing died on that note. "Anyway," Nabiki started, being more serious. "I have a plan to convince the school that we're not married and nothing happened."**

**"Oh. Found that time machine, eh? While we're changing the future, can we also go back to make sure I never got cursed? That'll be wonderful."**

**She smirked in spite of herself. "Seems like I'm rubbing off on you. But this calls for no time machine. Just a little explanation."**

**He crossed his arms. "Can't wait to hear this."**

**"This is all part of a plan to get Akane to admit her true feelings."**

**His head snapped around to look at her profile. "Say what?"**

**"Just like the movies," she said, smiling. "Man and woman are married. Enter old flame, whom man still has feelings for. Unhappiness with his current life, the two gravitate towards each other until they re-ignite those old feelings, and they confess their deepest feelings. He leaves his wife, whom he was never happy with, and gets back with his true love."**

**Ranma studied her for a little while, a concentrated look affixed on his features. "I never thought you could be so... so..."**

**"Ingenious?" Nabiki primed, giving him a confident, half-lidded look.**

**He shook his head. "Sappy."**

**She glared at him. "Look, I'm doing this out of the kindness of my heart. Don't get smart with me, because I'll have no problem staying married to you."**

**"What? But I—"**

**"-can make your life a living hell." She tossed her hair back, leveling her gaze. "You thought our engagement was bad? Wait until I start trying in our married life. I'll start by selling off the dojo, and then..."**

**Ranma gulped, throwing up his hands. "Hey, hey, now... no need to get vicious. I was just saying you're like the last person I'd ever thought would be talking that soap opera junk other girls at school get obsessed with."**

**She seemed to consider what he said. "Well, now you know better. So, just try to look a little miserable, and we should be more than convincing.**

**"You mean I don't look miserable enough?"**

**She looked at him out of the corner of her eye.**

**Hands were thrown back up. "Sorry... just came out."**

**Nabiki's response was to turn away and continue heading towards school. Ranma fell in step behind her.**

**"Wait a sec," Nabiki said, stopping just at the gates of Furinken High School.**

**"Hm? What's up?"**

**"Something's wrong."**

**He perked a brow, walking around her. "What do you mean? I don't see anyone-"**

**"That's just it. No one's out on the grounds talking, walking, or generally goofing around, waiting for the bell to ring." She scanned the grounds, trying in vain to find some sort of life outside. She was disappointed, which set off the hairs on the back of her neck.**

**Ranma, on the other hand, took one look up and pointed. "Well there's someone, who just ducked back inside."**

**She followed his hand, but missed the target. "Where did he go?"**

**"Dunno. He was a student, though."**

**Nabiki frowned. "I really don't like this..."**

**He shrugged. "Well, knowing the principal, he may have the field covered in pineapple bombs or something."**

**The thought of getting blown up— as it was a very real possibility with Principal Kuno manning the helm of Furinken – made the married Tendo grow weak in the knees as well as feel lightheaded. "Ranma, if anyone ever suggests you to become a counselor, do me a favor... punch them out."**

**Ranma glanced behind him, seeing her stagger on her feet. "Aw, man..." He grabbed her by her shoulders, holding her like that until she was standing steadily. "Look, I don't what's wrong here, but I ain't gonna let anyone or anything hurt you, all right?"**

**She could tell he was serious about his statement. Despite herself, she did feel somewhat moved by that kind of determination. She shook her head, dissolving those thoughts. "All right." She then smirked a little. "But if you get me killed, consider yourself divorced."**

**"That's not funny." He couldn't help but chuckle a little at the thought. Then he swept her up into his arms, an action that caught the brunette off-guard.**

**"What the hell—" One hand had turned into a fist, poised in the air to strike.**

**"Hey, a man's only good as the promises he keeps, you know?" With his face set, Ranma took off running, streaking up the pathway, his eyes scanning everything that looked suspicious. If something odd was in his path, he hopped over it. Nabiki held onto him, her own eyes darting around, looking out for some surprise attack that invariably followed. She was disappointed that there was none; it would have explained away the missing students.**

**Just as they reached the front doors, one swung open partly, and two pineapples were tossed out, both heading straight for the two.**

**"What the?" The married man skidded to a halt as the seemingly harmless fruit sailed towards their location.**

**Nabiki was wide-eyed in disbelief. "Ranma!"**

**He didn't have the time to drop his accidental bride. Tightening his grip on her, the martial artist twisted his body around on the ball of his foot, angling a kick to smash one Hawaiian delight into the other that was lagging a little behind. With luck, the resulting explosion would be at his back, keeping her safely in front of him while he dealt with the damage.**

**Fortunately, the pineapples didn't explode as he figured. Instead, they made a hollow bursting sound, like someone jabbing a needle through a balloon, but deeper. Immediately, it started raining motley confetti and streamers. Then there were a series of cap gun-like poppings in random intervals, and a series of shouts. **

**"Congratulations, Ranma and Nabiki!"**

**"Huh?" Both of them looked at the school doors, where a throng of people streamed out into the courtyard, waving banners, yanking on various party poppers, and generally having a good time. Students, teachers, even the principal (strumming a ukulele) were out there, celebrating.**

**"Congratulations?" they said as one, looking at each other.**

**"On your wedding guys!" one student shouted.**

**"Whodathunkit? You and Nabiki being on the up and up," another chimed in.**

**"You're so cruel, Ranma! Stringing Akane along while you secretly pined after Nabiki!"**

**"Lucky dog!"**

**"And I though for sure you were just trying to scam us out of money, with those bets and all!"**

**"You da man, Saotome!"**

**"We're so jealous of you, Nabiki!"**

**The small celebration washed over the couple for which it was held in honor like a phantom wave, both wide-eyed in disbelief. Their peepers grew more, if it was possible, as Akane approached them. That, in itself, wasn't the reason for their surprise and panicking.**

**Her smiling sadly holding her own set of unfired party poppers, on the other hand, sent up all kinds of alarms and warnings.**

**"I hope you didn't mind me setting this up, Nabiki," she said. "Kasumi thought it might help me work through this if I were to assemble a small celebration."**

**Nabiki hadn't even noticed that she slid out of Ranma's arms and was standing on her own feet again. "She did..." the older sister's mouth failed her in mid sentence, lips moving without sound.**

**Turning to Ranma, the former fiancée did her best to not look grieved. "I... was a fool for not seeing what... who you really wanted. I'm sorry..." she said, bowing, struggling hard to keep her composure. "I hope... we can be... friends..."**

**The married man had none of the grace his new "wife" demonstrated a second ago. Instead, his mind went into Automatic Response Mode while the rest of him dealt with the shock surging through his body. "...uh, yeah... 'course... ah..."**

**Akane straightened up, herself on the brink of tears. "Thank you," she whispered, then pulling the strings on each party popper taunt, firing them off, one on either side of her. "And congratulations."**

**Ranma remained immobile. Nabiki, on the other hand, fainted dead away.**

**"This can't be happening," the brunette said, sitting up on the examining table. "What the hell did I do wrong?"**

**"Dunno," Ranma said, sitting in a chair in front of his "wife," holding a cup of water in hand. "Doesn't this kinda screw up your plan?" He took a sip afterwards.**

**She glared at her "husband." "Of course it does. Don't be an idiot."**

**"Hey, it's not my fault we got married."**

**The corner of her upper lip curled slightly, baring some teeth. "Like hell! If you weren't such a cocky, arrogant bastard-!"**

**He met her eyes with the same resentment she displayed, then went into a cuteness act. "'Hey, Ranma, let's get married tomorrow! Tee hee!'" Cuteness dropped, he then glared fiercely at her before turning away. "Cry me a river."**

**"Good idea." She kicked her foot up, catching the bottom of the cup in his hands. Water splashed up, drenching her "husband," and triggering the Jusenkyo curse.**

**The newly made girl sputtered. "What the hell what that for?"**

**Nabiki said nothing, only slid off the table, picked up her bag and headed out the door, leaving a wet guy-turned-girl to fume at her back.**

**"Damn her," Ranma swore, then starting to get up.**

**"Ranchan?"**

**He froze in his spot, only his eyes daring to turn in the direction of the familiar (but secretly dreaded) voice. He saw her standing in the doorway, wearing the same boy's uniform that she chose for attending Furinken High School, wearing the same spatula bandolier around her body, complete with the handle of her enormous battle steel spatula jutting up from behind her. All in all, it looked like the same old Ukyo he remembered. However, there was something off about her today. Her face…**

**"Um, hi, Ucchan..."**

**She stared hard at the cursed, little girl before her, her eyes seemingly searching for something. "Say it isn't true."**

**He shrank back a little. "S-say what isn't true?"**

**Anger flared. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, you Jackass!" Then it sputtered out, leaving behind the searching eyes. "Say you didn't really marry Nabiki Tendo."**

**He was expecting it to happen sometime, but not this soon. And how delicate his fingers were in his cursed body. He never noticed that before now. The way they danced on the empty air—**

**"Tell me everyone is lying!" She had lunged for him, stopping within arm's reach, afraid of what he would say. "Please..."**

**The desperate tone of her voice grabbed his heart and wrenched it out of place, squeezing it tightly in its vise grip. He couldn't find the strength to put Nabiki's plan into action. "Y... yeah. But I can explain—"**

**He never got the chance to get any further. Ukyo's fist stuck him squarely in the jaw, ripping his lithe girl body off his feet. He spiraled for a second, only to have his flight abruptly halted by the examination table. His body folded over the top like it was a pile of soggy noodles, only to discover it couldn't stick to the surface like cooked pastry. Expectantly, he slid off the table, and fell into a pile on the floor beside it, moaning painfully.**

**The last thing he could remember was seeing a miserable Ukyo barreling out of the office, her sobs lingering along with the only other thing she said.**

**"You Jackass...!"**

**The married Tendo walked the hallway of the second floor, fuming to herself. She tried to rationalize some answers for her current woes, an explanation that would set everything right, or at least justify her swelling misery and anger. So far, everything she has been planning lately has backfired in some grand fashion. Worse yet, she was being sabotaged, and by someone whom she would have never suspected in a thousand years: her own beloved Kasumi.**

**_She's going to pay for this. I don't know how she knew what I was up to, but she's going to pay for this dearly..._**

**"Nabiki Saotome."**

**Immediately, her thoughts were yanked into a whole new – and very revolting – direction. Turning furiously, her eyes lighted upon the person that had put her and Ranma's surname in the same sentence. If looks could kill, the authorities would never find Kuno's body.**

**"It is a fortuitous occasion, indeed. Had I not witnessed such an event with my own eyes, I would feel as though you would deem yourself capable of misleading me. But, no, it shall be upheld as truth, that you and the foul sorcerer Ranma Saotome have indeed found peace in a manner of holy sanctimony."**

**The more Kuno talked, the angrier and more volatile her mood degenerated.**

**He then knelt down before her, surprising the young woman. Hands roughened and trained in the pure art of kendo clapped together twice, then he followed up the motion with bowing his head.**

**Nabiki perked an eyebrow. "What are you doing, Kuno-baby?"**

**"Praying for your soul. May the gods honor your noble sacrifice, Nabiki Saotome. I shall never forget what you've done to dissuade the black magicks that Saotome cur has inflicted upon the beauteous tigress Akane." Quietly, he shed his tears. "Truly, I have misjudged you once again. I never once considered you alone would be a selfless soul."**

**Hitting him, while it would have probably been very therapeutic, would have been pointless; it wouldn't hurt him nearly enough. Maybe she could convince Ranma to beat him up good and live vicariously through him.**

**The kendoist bowed once at the waist, then stood erect. "However, I feel I must warn you."**

**"Hm?" Nabiki looked at him inquisitively. "Warn me about what?"**

**"My younger sister. Saddened as I am to say, she is not one for understanding such spiritual nobleness, and her affections for the cur Saotome leaves her weakened in emotional fortitude."**

**She waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, yeah, she's head over heels in love with Ranma. What else is new?"**

**"Do not take my words lightly, Nabiki Saotome." She twitched at the title, but Kuno paid it no heed. "My younger sister has been known to hold a grudge for some, and her vengeance is oft swift and terrible. Your union with the one whom she seeks favor has placed a tree in her path. It is likely she will cut it down in all manners of the term."**

**The young woman took a few moments to digest the swordsman's words. "I see…"**

**"Truly. I must be off." He looked at her solemnly. "Again, I must thank you for your brave sacrifice. Your name shall always be remembered; your deed shall never be forgotten." Regally, he strode away from Nabiki.**

**She stared at his back for a while longer. "I should have at least kicked him." Frowning, she added mostly to herself. "And when did I get this violent?"**

"Thank the gods the day is finally over…" Nabiki said, walking out of the school building. Throughout the day, just about everyone that had known about her had wished her good luck in her marriage. It was still irritating, but she let their words wash over her. She had something to think about, namely Kodachi Kuno.

Kuno's words clung to her as if he just spoken them, and not hours ago. Initially, she tried dismissing them as nonsense, but the gravity in which he said them still weighed upon her, convincing her to at least consider what could happen. However, after a few moments of considering what kendoist's eccentric gymnastic sister could do as revenge, Nabiki was left disturbed. She really needed to see Ranma. However, no one had seen him when she inquired at lunch. In fact, no one she talked to had seen at all, aside from that morning.

"Yo, Nabiki."

"Hm?" She turned around, and caught sight of the person she was looking for.

"Akane said you were looking for me?" Ranma said, walking up beside her.

She continued moving on through the gates. "Where were you? And why do you have a bandage of your face?"

The martial artist touched the flesh-toned bandage adhered to his cheek. "Oh, Ucchan came around just after you left. She was kinda pissed about us getting married, so she decked me."

Nabiki raised an eyebrow in question. "And that was enough to lay out the great Saotome, master of Anything Goes School of Martial Arts?"

"Ha ha. The nurse let me lay up in her office for a bit. She was afraid I had a concussion or something, since I kinda left a dent in her table from where I hit it." He shook his head. "I'm cool, though."

"I already knew that. A mountain could fall on your head before it did any kind of brain damage."

He started to glare at her, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. "While I was there, I was thinking about what'll Shampoo do once she finds out." He drew his arms up above his head, then laced his fingers together, locking them as he held to the back of his neck. "Well, assuming she hadn't already."

"And Kodachi."

"Hm? What about Kodachi?" He looked puzzled as to why Nabiki had mentioned her.

Her face became a mask of neutrality. "Kuno mentioned thins morning that Kodachi may try to take a stab at revenge, too."

"Dammit, I keep forgetting about her." He sighed, then looked at her. "Hey, what I said this morning still stands, all right?"

She looked at him, a twinkle of mischief in her eye. "That 'selfish bitch' isn't long enough a title for _moi_?"

He nearly tripped over himself. "God, just forget I said that already!"

Nabiki chuckled. "You're still so easy to tease, Ranma-baby."

He sighed. "You know good and well what I'm talking about."

"No. How about you just tell me again?"

"…I said that I'll protect you, no matter what."

She smiled, taking great pleasure in dragging it out of him. "Well, that's good to know."

Sighing, he responded off-handedly. "Yeah, 'specially since you might be carrying my kid and stuff."

The brunette froze in midstep. The pigtailed fighter kept on walking, not noticing she had stopped. Panic streaked across her face, her heart thumping like a jackhammer inside her chest. It almost didn't seem real, like it occurred in another lifetime. The reminder was a bucket of cold water splashed right into her face.

She wanted to cry again for being such a fool, but she really didn't want to let anyone else see her at her most embarrassing moments. No one needed to know about those times. She didn't want anyone to know her secret fears.

Meanwhile, Ranma glanced over his shoulder, noticing for the first time the girl he accidentally married was no longer there. Turning around, he saw her still standing, her foot not touching the ground. Her eyes were dark, obscured by her bangs of hair. Worry drew on his features. "Hey, Nabiki?"

She didn't seem to respond at first, but a second or two later, her foot came down to the concrete. Her head shifted upward, revealing her face once again to him. She was smiling broadly, but Ranma felted disturbed just looking at it.

"I'm fine, Ranma-baby. Let's hurry up and get home." Without waiting for a reply, she hurried past him.

Watching her diminutive form disappearing around the corner of the walkway, Ranma let go of a breath he wasn't aware of holding and scratched his head. "Weird…" Shrugging, he followed after her.

On the opposite side of the street, a girl with ash black hair tied up in a one-sided ponytail dressed in a uniform in which the jacket clearly marked her as being a student of St. Hebereke had been hiding behind trees and fences, following the two newlyweds. She didn't follow any farther now, her intense hazel eyes creating their own well of tears. In one hand, a ribbon twirled slowly around its wand, cutting a groove on the grass and earth just by her foot. In the other hand, she held a video cassette tape devoid of any and all markings.

"Nabiki Tendo… how dare you take what rightfully belongs to me," the girl known as Kodachi Kuno spoke to herself. "And attempting to bind him to you for a long life of misery… I will not stand for it." She glared at the last place she saw the object of her hatred.

"I will destroy you like the insignificant bug you are."

_TBC _


	3. Sex Lies on Videotape

_**Ranma 1/2 and all related characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi. No disrespect intended for this simple fanfic.**_

For Better or For Worst- Case Scenario

Chapter 3: Sex Lies on Videotape

"_So, when are you bringing your stuff up here, Ranma?" Nabiki asked as she walked through her room door, tossing her satchel onto her bed._

"In a minute," the inquired replied, remaining at the doorway. He wore a pensive look. "Say, Nabiki…"

"Yes?" She looked at Ranma, smiling a little.

That smile still made Ranma feel nervous. She had been doing so since they talked on the way home. What on earth could make her be so happy about their colossal mistake of a wedding, particularly since she was just as desperate to get out of it as he was not a few hours ago?

"What? Is there something on my face?" she asked, the smile not disappearing.

He realized he must have been staring hard at her, and quickly shook his head. "Um, nothing. Nevermind. I'll just be a minute."

"No. Go ahead and take your time. Enjoy your last moments of freedom, Ranma-baby."

Eyebrow cocked in question, he puzzled briefly over her comment. "Uh, sure. I'll just be in the dojo if you need me."

"Thanks." Her smile reshaped itself into a toothy grin.

Ranma took this as a sign to leave. Quickly.

"I'll talk to Kasumi about drawing up a bath for you."

He grunted and nodded as he was turning away, only half hearing her; his mind was busy making an escape route. The door closed behind him, and Nabiki's expression dropped into a flat scowl.

"Oh, we'll have a nice little talk… dear sister…"

Nabiki took a few minutes to change out of her school uniform, opting for a pair of jeans and a loose-fitting white tee shirt. Once dressed, she left her room, fully intent on "thanking" Kasumi for everything she had done.

She hadn't managed three steps when a surprise crested the top of the stairs.

"Akane."

The young Tendo, still wearing her school uniform, looked directly at her slightly older sister. "Yes?"

_Kasumi can wait,_ Nabiki thought to herself, taking advantage of the anger-induced steely resolve in order to talk to her little sister. "Come, let's talk for a moment."

"O… kay." Puzzled, Akane went to her room door, opening it. "Come in. I was going to change out of my uniform."

Maintaining a cool composure, Nabiki strolled in. Akane pulled up the rear, closing the door behind her, then started to go to her closet to choose something different to wear.

"Why exactly did you organize that little celebration this morning?" Nabiki asked, sitting down on her sister's bed.

Akane paused, holding a red skirt and yellow blouse in hand. "I already told you," she said, turning to look at her. "Kasumi thought it would help me get past you and… Ranma's wedding." She bit her lip, choosing to look away from the brunette.

"Mm hmm. And when did she mention this idea?"

"Last night after dinner. You were still in your room. Dad wasn't the most thrilled about you not being present, but he could understand, what with everything hitting our family all at once."

Nabiki had to admit she was a little surprised. Her father being even slightly concerned about her well-being… When was the last time that happened? Usually, it's "Oh, don't worry about Nabiki," "She can take care of herself," or "She'll manage."

Filing away that thought, she continued on. "So, Kasumi had this idea for how long?"

Akane didn't answer right away, choosing to take a couple of steps closer to her own blood. "Nabiki, what's this about?" she more asked than demanded, peering closer to the other girl.

Nabiki, for her own good, pushed away from her sister, swinging her legs over the corner of her bed, and standing up. She was facing the wall opposite of Akane. "Kasumi's been playing us like fools…" she said under her breath.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on whose point of view is taken, Akane missed the comment. "What did you say?"

Glancing over her shoulder, Nabiki simply said, "Nothing important. I'll leave you alone now."

Still puzzled, Akane only nodded. "Okay…"

The older sister didn't hear it. She walked out of the youngest girl's room and straight to the staircase, anger flaring up within her mind.

Kasumi is going to pay… 

Kasumi selected a few nicely sized potatoes and carrots, setting the group beside the radishes, onions, a stout head of cabbage and a fair cut of pot roast beef on the kitchen counter. Humming to herself, she moved over to the utensils, picking up the wooden cutting board, well marked from where countless blades bit into the surface, then a brown handled chef's knife which she sat atop the last-mentioned object, tip and blade pointing away from her body. She paused long enough to grab hold of two metal containers to place the food in once it was prepared.

After washing the food off, she was about to begin the meticulous work, when Nabiki, pushed open the kitchen shutters aside. "Kasumi, let's talk about a few things."

"Can it wait? I was about to begin cooking dinner." She grabbed the cabbage and brought it over to the cutting board.

The middle daughter fumed. She didn't even bother turning around to face her! "It's been waiting far too long. We talk. Now."

The older woman paused, knife poised over her would-be produce victim. Then slowly she set the cutting utensil down and looked as her younger, married sister. "Please hurry. Dinner will be late."

Nabiki blurted out. "I don't give a damn about dinner! My life is more important!"

Understanding dawned on Kasumi. "Oh, that…"

"Yes, that!"

She shrugged apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I am not very experienced in those matters. I do hear some things, though so—"

The married one grew even more irate. "Don't you dare try to dodge the issue. You know exactly what you've done, you manipulative little—" Hastily she bit off the rest of the sentence and took a step back, upon seeing the look on her sister's face.

It was very flat and neutral. Like stone.

Moments passed, silence running amok in the kitchen.

"Well?"

Nabiki's jaw worked up the nerve to reply. "W-W-Well, what?"

"Do you wish to finish was you were going to say?"

A chill ripped down the married woman's spine. "F, forget about it. It's not important, anyway."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Forget about it already."

"All right." Kasumi's face grew more expressive. "Oh, my! Dinner will be late if I don't get started on it." She turned her back on her sister and began chopping into the innocent vegetable before her.

For a minute, the homemaker peeled off, rolled, and chopped up the cabbage leaves. Nabiki remained rooted to where she stood, not speaking, not moving. Anger still warred inside of her, but it was tempered with restraint… not fear. She went off the wrong end, and she was promptly admonished for her outburst. Perfectly natural to happen, so she was restraining herself, that's all.

Kasumi did _not_ just scare the hell out of her.

_The above-mentioned wove her voice into the staccato sounds of slicing and dicing. "If you're wondering about the bet, the twenty-five thousand yen was not placed on a whim."_

Nabiki jerked out of her introspection. "What did you say?"

"Really, I put up fifty thousand yen on the outcome of the wedding."

The brunette frowned. "But your winning bet was—"

"I know that. I had two bets made. One for, one against."

Nabiki cocked an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Really? There was no mention of someone hedging their bets."

"That's because I had asked Akane to place the 'Against' bet."

The married woman gaped at her older sister's back. "You did what!"

Kasumi pushed the cabbage strips into a bowl, and grabbed one carrot, chopping it into several orange coins. "I wanted her to believe that this was just another plot to torment her and Ranma, as you have done so in the past. I had intended for her to have hope."

She pushed off one neatly chopped vegetable into an awaiting bowl, and went for another. "I had also hoped your bookies would have mentioned her placing the bet to you before the wedding. In fact, I made sure she would let each one know that she was placing it." A quick shift, and more carrots filled the container their brethren occupied. "I was hoping you would have come to your senses by that."

Nabiki felt sickened. "No one said anything about it."

"Regardless, the money would have been made back if you two did not get married. However, now that you have—"

Ka-TUNK

Though the blade must have chopped through the potato's flesh hard enough to leave a noticeable deep groove in the cutting board, the married sister still staggered back as though the kitchen knife was jammed through her body.

Kasumi paused. "Oh, my." She turned to look at her sister. "Could we talk another time? With you distracting me, I forgot to peel the potatoes."

"…Sure, sis. Take your time."

She smiled. "Thank you." Turning back around, she began peeling the victim of its tough skin, humming to herself with every whittle.

Nabiki slid out of the kitchen, keeping the kitchen doors within her vision until she had to leave the living room. Not because she was afraid of her sister, she would note to herself. She was just looking to see if anyone else was listening in.

Kasumi did _not_ just scare the hell out of her _again_.

Ranma was just setting up his bed mat in the corner of the room again when Nabiki walked into the room wearing a none-too-happy face. Upon seeing him looking at her, the young woman closed the door behind her and sat down upon her bed. Then she fixed a strange look on him for a few moments, not saying anything in that time.

"W-what?" Nabiki's gaze made the normally cocky martial artist feel like he was a bug under a magnifying glass.

She didn't say anything for a few seconds longer before replying. "Ranma, do you ever get the feeling you're being used?"

He looked at her as though she grew another head. "'Being used'? Coming from you? Is this a trick question?"

"I mean by anyone else?"

He blinked in confusion. She should have reacted to that in some way. Vicious, overly kind while plotting something nasty, played it off only to trip you up later, something that would imply she was going to get him back for something. She sounded almost… accepting of the offhand accusation.

That unnerved him for reason he could not explain at the moment.

"Nabiki, you feeling okay?"

She frowned slightly. "Not really, but that's not important. Tell me what about our wedding do you remember."

"Huh? What's bringing this up now?"

"Just tell me. Do you remember anything different, someone telling you something, overheard a rumor, something, anything?"

Ranma sat down on his bed mat, fixing a stare on his "wife." "No… What's going on?"

The brunette pursed her lips. She should tell him about the role her "beloved" sister played in their wedding. However, it would most likely amount to a waste of breath, considering his track record with women. In Kasumi's case, she could turn aside a hardened murderer with a smile and an offering of a few snacks. It would take less than that to topple Ranma onto her side.

How can an older sister be so sweet and devious at the same time?

"Nothing," she finally said, shaking her head in frustration. "I was just checking out a few inquiries from the wedding."

"Oh…" He thought for a second. "Wait a sec. Do they got anything to do with me?"

Predator instincts arose, sensing a prime opportunity to alleviate some of her confused, foul mood of the last few minutes, At Ranma's expense, of course; after all they were now married, which granted her exclusive grounds to make him miserable anyway. Not missing a beat, she feigned a sigh. "Oh nothing… just something about cameras and seeing… if you have sex as a girl."

His eyes flew wide open. "W-W-W-W-What!"

"Like I said, it's nothing." She pointedly studied her nails.

"Like hell it is!" He sprang to his feet. "I heard about sickos putting little cameras in people's houses, spying on them when they're taking their clothes off!" Quickly, he started looking around the room.

Nabiki stifled a peel of laughter. Playing on Ranma's imagination was one thing, but watching him wind himself up on factual, though irrelevant, information was something else entirely. "What are you doing, Ranma-baby?"

He lifted up a couple of items in his immediate vicinity. "Looking for those little black cameras. Hiroshi says they're about the size of a 500 yen coin, but they can see everything!"

Nabiki struggled to keep from laughing, but was quickly failing. She knew he'd be a good source of comedy relief, but watching him take such a bald-faced lie so seriously! It was priceless!

He glanced over to her, and started getting upset. "Geez, Nabiki! This ain't no laughing matter! I got enough problems now, and people peeking in on me ain't going to help me at all!" He lifted up the picture frames on her desk.

The brunette fell out laughing hard. "Oh my god you're a riot!" She rolled back and forth on her bed, trying to catch her breath. "I'm about to piss myself! I can't believe you're such an—"

Ranma suddenly appeared before, his expression pensive, and thrust one hand a few inches shy of her face. It took a few seconds but, all traces of laughter became extinct.

She was breathless again, but for different reasons. "Someone put a camera in my room."

He nodded numbly, holding a small black camera, about the size of a 500 yen coin between his thumb and forefinger. "Found it behind one of those pictures on your desk."

"Someone put a camera in my room." She was rigid with dread. The feeling of having one's private sanction violated without knowing stripped away all confidence and goodwill.

"Yeah... It was facing your bed."

"Someone…" The cold pit in her stomach suddenly flared into a blistering inferno. Her hands clenched into tight fists, teeth gritting hard enough to crush rock. "Someone is going to die."

"…Mm hmm. That's the range? Hmm… That's more than helpful. Why am I asking? …oh, just looking into expanding my network, that's all. No, you haven't done anything wrong… yet. Thanks, Mugi-baby. Bye-bye."

Nabiki hung up the handset and looked over the information she scribbled down on the pad by the phone. "Okay, this electronic whiz I know says this camera model has a radius of up to two hundred and fifty meters from the receiver."

Ranma made a face. "Eight hundred feet? That could be just about anywhere around here!"

She looked in the direction of the kitchen. "…No, I don't think so. Chances are, it's a lot closer than that."

He looked at her sideways. "What makes you say that?"

"Call it a hunch. If it was me trying to get some private shots of someone, I'm get as close as I could without attracting attention, so I could make sure nothing went wrong."

Ranma mulled that over in his mind for a few moments. "I guess that makes sense. You would know better."

She responded with a look, but he was busying thinking about something with his arms folded across his chest, eyes on the floor. Quirking one corner of her lips, she walked to the front door.

Was this yet another Kasumi plot to get and keep her and Ranma married? A few days ago, the very thought would have been hysterically funny at best. Now, she wasn't so sure. While she was pretty sure Kasumi wouldn't know what to do with a lot of electronic devices if you fed her the instructions, that didn't rule her out entirely; after all, it turns out she knows people that work for the health department. Who's to say she doesn't know someone in security, or a mischievous uber-techno geek?

She grounded her teeth in anger. Just who the hell is her older sister to try and control her life, anyway? If she hadn't stuck her nose in where it didn't belong, the marriage would never have happened. Akane and Ranma would be at each other's throats and making up at the same time right now, no thanks to Kasumi.

"Dammit…" Nabiki muttered under her breath, closing the door behind her.

Ranma looked up to see her disappear through the front door. A quick study of her posture as she left spoke louder than the phrase she barely spoke, but he got both messages clearly.

"Huh… she's really pissed… not that I can blame her…"

"Hm? Is there something wrong, son?"

Startled, Ranma turned around to face the owner of the voice. "Ah, no, Mr. Tendo, just—"

"It's Father, my son. We're related now, so don't be so formal."

The younger man scratched his hear in apology. "Um, yeah… Father. It's going to take some getting used to, still."

"And we'll be here to support you and my precious daughter."

He seemed on the verge of breaking into a flood of tears, so Ranma hastily changed the subject. "Ah, you seen something strange before the wedding?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Just… Just anything that didn't look right. Someone where they shouldn't be… Anything."

Soun scratched his chin, looking directly at his son-in-law. "Is there something I should be aware of going on?"

"Nabiki was wondering about something. I… I don't know what it was, though." It was partially the truth. While he knew the "why" she was looking for something, he didn't know the "what."

"Hmm… Now that you mention it, there was one spooky-looking young man looking for the restroom."

Ranma's ears perked up a little. "A spooky-looking guy?"

Soun nodded. "Yes, appeared as though he doesn't sleep at night. He seemed as though he would soil his clothes and my floors at any moment, the way he was shaking, so I quickly gave him directions and he rushed off."

"Oh?" _That sounded kinda like Hikaru Gosunguki,_ Ranma thought to himself. "Well, do you remember anything else about him?"

Soun snorted. "Of course there was more. When he left, he had accidentally dropped a funny-looking doll on the floor. It looked like he was sewing a red shirt and black pants onto it. Pins were sticking into the doll, probably to keep the cloth secured." Remembering that, Soun shook his head. "It's a shame… a high school student, and he's playing with dolls…"

Ranma, on the other hand, looked as though he just saw a ghost walk behind his father-in-law and give the young martial artist the finger. "No way…"

"Pardon me, Son?"

"Gotta go find Nabiki, Mr. Tendo! Thanks for your help!"

"It's-" The Saotome son was long gone out the door when Soun started to speak. "Nevermind…" His brows knitted together, forming a frown on his face.. "I wonder what that was really about…

Ranma bounded up the stairs, practically skipping the stairs and going straight for the landings, and quickly swung into Nabiki's room. "Hey Nabiki, I think it might have been—"

A long sleeve, striped, motley-colored shirt had wrapped itself around the martial artist's face, obscuring the rest of the sentence. Nabiki happened o have looked up at the moment. "Oh, hey, Ranma. Check the dresser and drawers, the put then back in." She resumed her work.

He pulled the shirt off his face and caught sight of the scene before him.

Nabiki was on her knees lifting up her bed mattress, her alert and keen eyes searching for anything vaguely resembling hidden spy equipment. Having been violated in such an alien way, she was bound to leave no stone unturned. In her case, every article of clothing she owned was strewn across the room, the dwarves pulled out and stacked in one corner. All her books were left open, cascading across her desktop in a chaotic literary spread.

She paused in her meticulous work to give Ranma a reproving look. "The drawers, Ranma. Check them and the dresser." Her head ducked down to resume work. "And put them back in place afterwards."

Shrugging, he tossed the shirt onto the pile on her bed. "I think it might have been Gosunkugi," Ranma said as he reviewed the dresser drawers and the dresser itself.

"Say that again?"

"Gosunkugi." He looked inside the dresser body, then lifted it up to look underneath. "He always has a camera with him taking pictures of Akane when he thinks no one's looking."

"True, Ranma." Nabiki dropped the mattress down, then sat on one corner of the bed. She watched him turn the dresser itself around to peek behind it. "Which is exactly why that doesn't make a lot of sense. If he were that gutsy, he would have put the cameras in Akane's room, not mine."

Each drawer was carefully inserted back into the dresser. "Maybe he got the rooms confused?"

Nabiki gave him a look. "He'd have to be blind to miss the nameplates on the doors."

He sighed. "Look, that's the best I can think of. If it's not him, then we're stuck with no one else."

"Oh, there's always someone else…" Nabiki muttered ruefully.

"What did you say?"

She bit her lip, forgetting that Ranma has much better sensory perception than the regular guy on the street. "Nothing. Let's just say it is Hikaru Gosunkugi. First off, why would a spineless wimp like him do it in the first place?"

Ranma shrugged. "Mr. Tendo did say he looked pretty shaken. Maybe someone was putting him up to it?"

"Possible. He and Kuno did work together to expose your greatest weakness once."

He shuddered, remembering the trap door fall into a pit of stray cats and one large lion. "Don't even remind me of that incident."

Nabiki ignored his obvious discomfort. "So, let's say he is indeed working for someone else. Who? Who'd be interested in videotaping us?" She quickly cut off her for-now husband before he could open his mouth. "Not counting 'sickos.'" After a moment, she added. "Well, excluding the ones we know, anyway."

"I dunno. Who'd want to watch someone else have sex, anyway?"

She perked an eyebrow in wonder at that comment. "Boy, you've been living a sheltered life. Anyway, back to the matter at hand."

"Hey! What kind of—"

"I can't see," she said, cutting Ranma off again. "How Kuno would benefit from seeing me and you have sex."

"Maybe he's trying to blackmail you or something."

Nabiki snorted derisively. "Hardly. He doesn't have the brain capacity to make that subtle a plan."

Ranma, on the other hand was leery. "Are you sure about that?"

She gritted her teeth a little, before making herself unclench her jaw. "Absolutely. Besides, I have a lot more dirt on him. He wouldn't dare take the chance."

He would have said something else, but the hard look in her eyes warned him off from progressing any farther down that line. "So, who else would put him up to it?"

Nabiki threw herself bodily backwards onto the piles of clothing burying her bed. Arms spread wide, feet dangling off the side, she stared at the ceiling for a few moments. "I have no idea. Let's go ask him."

The pale, frail-looking boy with dark circles under his eyes was busy poring over a science-fiction magazine. "Mmm… power suit…" he said, slouching at his desk. "When I get that, I'm sure Akane would—"

The sharp knock on his room door interrupted his budding fantasy. Sighing heavily, Gosunkugi plopped the magazine down on his desk, and pushed himself out of his seat. He ran his fingers through his rumpled, disheveled dark hair, mumbling just loud enough to be heard. "What is it, mom?" he asked, opening his room door.

He almost had a heart attack upon lighting his eyes on Ranma and Nabiki. The former looked annoyed, but the latter was smiling, and Nabiki Tendo – correction, Saotome – wearing a smile was never a good thing. Quickly, he tried to close the door shut; however, with Ranma's foot in the way, he may as well been trying to move a mountain with his nose.

"Gos-baby, it's been so long since I've last seen you! How are you doing?"

In response, he fell over his own feet trying to get back away from the door.

"So clumsy…" Nabiki remarked, walking into the room with Ranma bodily barricading the door. "You really need to be more careful. You could accidentally break a leg… an arm… knock your teeth out…"

"Gyah!" The room owner quickly scrambled to the window and leapt to freedom… or he might have, had it not been securely locked. Furiously, he clawed at the latch, nervous, frightened fingers trying their best to pull it free.

A hand fell upon his shoulder, and he ceased all action. Gosunkugi broke out into a cold sweat, his knees knocking together. "I, I, I don't know anything! J-Just leave me alone!"

"I dunno, Nabiki. Seems like he knows plenty," Ranma lazily commented from his position.

She pursed her lips, as if in deep thought. "About video surveillance? You may be onto something."

Gosunkugi's eyes widened more in horror. "N-No! Please!"

The young woman slowly turned the terror-stricken youth around to face his company. "Gos-baby," she softly purred as she reached into her pocket, producing the mini-camera with a small flourish. "What can you tell me about this?"

Gosunkugi's mouth opened and closed rapidly, but no intelligent sound came forth. His eyes were wild, searching for some way out.

Ranma sighed loudly. "Forget this, Nabiki; let's just beat the hell out of him till he starts talking"

The subject of the would-be vicious pummeling squeaked, with his legs giving way. Nabiki let him fall bonelessly to the floor, then watching him squirm and wriggle about like a worm after a rainstorm. "D-Don't hurt me! I just—"

"Just what, Gos-baby?" She folded her arms under her breasts, smirking at the back of his head. "Just wanted to see what's life like being a voyeur?"

To her and Ranma's surprise, the sickly boy seemed genuinely disgusted with the idea. "We just wanted to know if you were just tricking everyone into thinking you two got married!"

The brunette woman lightly coughed into her hand, hiding away part of her expression; her "husband" looked away entirely, a dour look evident on his profile. "How do you mean, Gos-baby?"

His eyes stared up to his handlers. "The odds you set up on your wedding… No one thought much about the ten-to-one bet on you two tying the knot, but someone heard that someone had placed a large bet on that longshot, and well, everyone got suspicious."

_Kasumi…_ Nabiki scowled, thinking what her sister had done. Upon seeing Gosunkugi shirk away from her little by little, she forced herself to calm down. "Okay, okay, so where does this camera come into play?"

"Um, well, I heard some talking about their suspicions, and…" He shrank in on himself, before continuing on. "I… Ivolunteeredtospyonyoutwoformoney!"

There was a long pause of silence after that verbal rush. Nabiki stared hard at the cowering informant, her eyes practically boring though his very being. Ranma, for his part, looked like a deer caught in headlights. Gosunkugi cringed, trying to make himself as small a target as possible.

"You sold us out?" she began, each word carefully measured and weighed. Not waiting for a response, she continued. "First off, how much did you take in to do this?"

The martial artist almost fell over. "What the hell does that matter? He was spying on us that night we—" Abruptly, he shut his mouth, blushing a furious shade of scarlet.

"A little over fifteen thousand! They pooled their money together and gave it to me for copies!"

Now it was Nabiki's turn to almost fall over. "Copies! You made copies! How many!"

Gosunkugi wailed. "I didn't! I swear! I didn't even look at the whole thing! I couldn't bring myself to watch it beyond you two kissing! Honest! I'm telling the truth!"

"Who else saw it with you?"

"No one! Mom doesn't let my friends stay here past eight on a school night!"

"Where is the—"

A sudden knock on the room door stole everyone's attention. "Hikaru dear, is everything all right in there?"

"Yes, Mrs. Gosunkugi," Nabiki smoothly said. "We're just practicing our lines for the school play."

A trace of disbelief wafted through the door with her words. "You're in the school play, Hikaru dear?"

A sharp kick into Gosunkugi's backside shook him into compliance. "Y-Yes, mom. School play… rehearsing for play…"

"How wonderful, dear! Don't let me interrupt your practice, then." And on that, she left from the door.

Ranma looked at the door, then at Nabiki, clearly in a state of disbelief. "I can't believe you just—" Then he paused for a second, and restated himself. "On second thought, I can believe you just lied like that as if it's nothing."

She gave him a sly smile. "Flattery will get you everywhere, except one place." Then she refocused her attention on novice voyeur. "Time is short. Make a list of everyone who paid for a copy of the video, then give me both that info and the tape, as well as the money you accepted for it."

"I… I can give you the list and money… but not the tape…"

Nabiki gave him a look of disbelief. "Oh, I think you can. Blackmail tends to only make my husband very prone to random acts of violence." She looked up to Ranma, who was mouthing "Husband?" with a shocked expression adorning his features. "Care to give our friend a demonstration?"

"No! I would if I could… but… i-it's… gone…"

Sighing, she made a dismissive motion with her hand. "Ranma, find out who Gos-baby sold the tape to, then kill him."

Ranma looked around the room as if there was another guy with whom he just happened to share the same name.

Gosunkugi was too busy quavering in fear to notice. "I swear I didn't sell anything! It was sitting in my VCR last night, but when I woke up this morning, it was just gone! I don't know what happened to it! I'm telling you guys the truth! Please don't kill me! Please don't! Please!" He started to sob, bowing his face to the floor as though he was trying to become one with it.

The newlywed couple both had to turn their heads; Ranma felt embarrassed, while Nabiki was openly disgusted. "Just go get the money, Gos-baby. And everything that came with the micro camera. Reception unit box, cables, everything. And you tell anyone who comes inquiring that a martial artist – he wore a mask, so you don't know who he was, but he could fly and burn stuff just by touching it – caught wind of what was going on and destroyed everything." She turned her face back to Gosunkugi once again, who was still bowed and weeping. "We will burn one tape and…" Nabiki bit her lip slightly before continuing. "And the largest yen note of the lot, just so you'll have proof. Most likely, they will not pursue the issue beyond your word. Under no circumstances are you to let them know that we know. Is that understood?"

"Y-Yes, Nabiki."

"Good. Now go do it."

Goodbye, power suit… Gosunkugi thought glumly as he weakly got up and did newly wedded woman's bidding.

Nabiki read and re-read the list of names Gosunkugi supplied her with as she and Ranma made their way home. "Surprisingly short. Only four names, and all of them I recall having some difficulties with in the past."

Ranma cut his eyes to his right, looking at her flatly. "Gee, you sound disappointed that not enough people hate you. Trying to reach some sort of quota or something?"

A small retort rose up in her mouth, but she pushed it back from leaving the tip of her tongue. "No, I was more thinking about who Gos-baby ­didn't put on the list."

That comment got a raised eyebrow from her companion. "Think he was still holding out, even after all the hell you put him through?"

"Considering I just forced myself to burn a five thousand yen note out of a pile of change and small notes, I'd say yes." She shook herself, dispelling the memory of such handsome currency being swallowed up by cold, orange flames. "Did you notice how crisp and new the bill was?"

"Uh, no… I don't normally go into seizures over losing what wasn't mine in the first place."

'Oh, trust me. It felt so sharp and crisp, just like it came straight off the printing press."

The only response Ranma had was to roll his eyes. "Ever think you're just a _little_ obsessed with money?"

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

His face fell. "What planet are you from?"

Nabiki smirked. "Haven't you ever heard how people get money _and_ are able to keep it?"

"Don't spend it?"

"Heh. That's a minor thing, but the true secret to acquiring loads of money is very simple."

"Is that so?"

"Yep. So simple and easy, most would never get it in a million years."

"And that's… what?"

The brunette stopped walking, darting her eyes to and fro exaggeratedly, as if to spy hidden interlopers spying on them. Then she took his arm, cupped her hand and drew to Ranma's ear, whispering softly. "Love money," she said, drawing out each word.

He blinked as he found himself coloring a little and hastily pulled away. "Oh, o-okay. Whatever you say."

She shook her head, mildly amused with his reaction. "That's the one thing I really want." Her voice grew softer, quieter. "To not have money become an issue."

He didn't know how to respond to that, so he opted to keep his mouth closed.

Realizing where her thoughts were straying, she snapped out of her reflection and looked at Ranma. "You didn't hear that last part."

"Hear what?"

"Exactly." She looked up at the sky, noting the clouds swelling more and more with gray. "Come on, it's going to rain shortly."

He didn't question the strange behaviors the middle Tendo girl-turned-his wife had just displayed. Plus the lack of concern for the whereabouts of the missing tape disturbed him. Either Nabiki was some kind of closet exhibitionist, or something else was on her mind that took precedence over everything else. He just quickened his pace, wanting to avoid changing into a girl needlessly.

He'd ask her about the tape again once they were home.

_I can't believe I started talking about that,_ Nabiki thought to herself, as she kicked off her shoes at the landing and jammed her feet into her house slippers. _And with Ranma, of all people!_ She glanced off to her side, noting that Ranma seemed inattentive for the moment, taking time to pull of his footwear. _This whole marriage situation has definitely screwed me up. Just focus on the present; reliving the past isn't going to make that tape show up._

Entering the den, she caught her father's eye, who was approaching her. "Ah, good. You're home, daughter."

"Yeah, just got in, Daddy. Something's up?"

He produced from his gi top a small brown package. Upon lighting her eyes on it, she sucked in a breath through her teeth. "This was left at the door, addressed to you."

"Thank you, Daddy." She quickly took the package from his fingers and headed upstairs.

He smiled bemusedly, watching her practically fly up the stairwell. "Just like when she was little. Some things will never change." The patriarch glanced over to see Ranma approaching the steps as well. "Ranma, my son."

The youth paused in mid stride, turning his head to meet Soun's eyes. "Yeah, Mr Tendo?"

"Father. It's Father, now."

Ranma sighed. "Yeah, still gonna take some getting used to."

The older man nodded. "Remember what we talked about yesterday." For added effect, he flexed one arms, pumping his fist in front of his chest. "Don't' let misfortune befall my daughter… or else."

The pigtail youth swallowed nervously, his mind on recent events. "N-No sweat, Mis-" He bit off the word in mid-speech, then spoke the corrected version. "I mean, Father."

At that, Soun beamed. Very good, my son." The older man headed back into the living room.

Scratching his head at the odd turn of events, Ranma headed upstairs and turned the corner, approaching Nabiki's room. He knocked once. "Can I come in?"

"It's your room, too, now," he heard Nabiki say through the door, sounding tired and beaten. Curious, he walked in.

His eyes lighted upon her still form laying haplessly across her bed face up, her eyes closed as though she just passed on from the world. Beside her, brown wrapping paper carelessly torn apart laid, playing host to a black video cassette tape. It had no labels or writings of any kind adorning the plastic case.

Before he could ask about the tape, Nabiki asked. "Am I really that horrible a person, Ranma?"

"Huh?"

She rose up into a sitting position, and patted a place beside her languidly. She had not once opened her eyes, though. He obliged her, seating himself.

"Be honest with me here, Ranma. Am I really such a bitch that people would go out their way to make me suffer for it?"

He tried searching her face, but her eyes still had not opened. "Well, I don't hate you or nothing. You just… piss me off a lot and stuff."

"Did you really want to be married to me?"

He gave her a weird look. "Nabiki, what the hell are you going on about?"

"I'm being serious. Had you once thought about being married to me before?"

Still leery of the extreme change that overcame his newly-made wife, Ranma got up. "Dunno. I don't really think a lot about what tomorrow's got in store for me. I just face up to it like any other day and not worry about what's going to happen."

Nabiki was dead silent for a few moments. "Now, I'm more afraid to look at the tape."

"Why's that?"

Her eyes opened finally, and the amount of worry they held nearly drowned him. "Because I'm pretty sure our wedding night's on that tape right here."

They had eaten in silence at the dinner table, each one lost in their own thoughts. After the meal, Akane had approached her, asking if something was wrong, but Nabiki waved her concern off, citing marital adjustments. She and Ranma had adjourned to their room for the night. The light was turned out, but no one slept.

Neither one wanted anyone in the family to see their lewd, drunken sexual acts on film. Since Nabiki had neither a TV nor a VCR (a problem Nabiki would quickly seek to correct as soon as possible), they waited until everyone had retired to their own rooms and were thought to be soundly asleep. Then they stole from their room and down to the living room. By then, the clock read half past twelve.

They had to act quickly, view the tape, and confirm their worst fears. Nabiki turned on the TV set, turning down the volume to a bare minimum to avoid waking up her father, while Ranma popped the tape into the VCR. Every tiny noise made in the silent room sounded like gun shots, and time slowed to a crawl.

Everything set up, Ranma pressed Play, and they hugged closely to the screen to view their intoxicated passion play out before them.

What they got was an image of a smiling Kodachi Kuno waving a plain black tape in front of the camera.

Once Nabiki and Ranma overcame the shock, the tape was rewound a bit, and then played, this time, the volume turned up a little bit to hear what she was saying.

"_Oh, hello, Nabiki. I assume you did get my little present I left for you. I'm sorry – terribly sorry – I could not deliver something more suitable for your wedding; it seems I was given the wrong location after all. But, lo, I discover I did not miss out on the real event after all. After overhearing my charmingly thoughtful brother request that dreadful pale boy with the dolls to verify the authenticity of your martial bliss, I could not help but to inquire in the matter myself. And that, my dear sneaky Nabiki, is where I somehow wound up with this piece of matrimonial fun. It's quite naughty, I must say. Gives me cause to blush furiously even as I made copies. I bet you would like to relive those moments, ne?"_

_Kodachi blows a kiss at the camera as her image fades out. Then a sudden burst of Nabiki clutching onto Ranma, sloppily kissing him on the mouth and dipping down along his throat. The groom, for his part, was fondling her still-concealed bosom, his fingers pulling at the satiny fabric of her wedding gown, groping for a zipper, or something. Her hand drew up, grabbing his crotch with a greedy hand and stroking him through his pants._

_The lustful image cuts out again, fading in a blushing Kodachi._

"_Just positively scandalous, wouldn't you agree, Nabiki? It would be every naughty pervert's dream to see you in such smutty action, of that, I'm positive. And I hear from my brother that there are many of those kinds of people that go to your school. I simply can't imagine the teachers or my father taking well to catching this kind of material in their fine student's hands. Why, I'm certain they would go so far as to dismiss the author of the tape._

"_Of course now, if you were to end up taking yourself out of this beautiful bondage of love to Ranma-sama, I highly doubt anyone would be interested in viewing such a dirty, naughty pastime. What says you?"_

The screen went black for a few moments before turning a bright blue. The newlywed couple remained put for many minutes, one finally draping an arm around the other. The power was eventually cut to the TV set and the video tape retrieved before the VCR meets the same fate as its brethren. Then the duo of Ranma and Nabiki plodded back to their room, the gravity of their reality threatening to obliterate them.

TBC


	4. Operation: B Sting

**_Ranma 1/2 and all related characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi. No disrespect intended for this simple fanfic._**

For Better or For Worst-Case Scenario

Chapter 4: Operation: "B" Sting

Morning slowly rose over the Tendo home, seeping its way into every available facet of the house. Nabiki stirred unusually easily today, her mind aflutter with the latest string of curses laid upon her head. In the end, Kodachi had the tape – a tape, which, as her suspicions led her to believe, Kuno and others paid Gosunkugi to make in the first place. "God damn them," she muttered under her breath, angrily balling up her hand and thumping it on her mattress.

"Hmuh? Wha?"

Mattresses usually don't talk back.

Looking where her fist rested, another thought came to mind; she did not have black and/or red bed sheets, either. Then Nabiki became more alert of a sturdy weight across her back, looping partway around her waist, and a firm presence against her side. That could only mean one thing.

She quickly detached herself from under Ranma's arm, jostling the martial artist into a more wakeful state. While he overcame sleepiness, a quick essay of their state of dress gave Nabiki some comfort, but it did not dissipate her mood. She must have fallen asleep on Ranma early that morning after viewing the blackmail tape – after a bout of crying, she mused angrily to herself. They were both sitting up and dressed at the time, so nothing else could have happened. Still, things have gone too far with this marriage situation. She let things go too far too long.

It had to stop, and now.

However, Nabiki was not about to do things Kodachi's way. Divorcing Ranma, while it would make the most sense – even wanted to a degree – was not an option. First off, there was no guarantee of the blackmail footage disappearing once the Bitch Rose's demand was met. That video footage would loom over her head for potentially years on end, and its revelation at the wrong time would have a devastating impact on her personal and professional life. Crippled career options, public shame, family and personal life rent apart, driven to whoring herself out in Shinjuku's notorious red light district just to eek out a living – every scenario that came to mind made her shudder coldly. The tape would make her Kodachi's personal bitch, and Nabiki was damned if she was going to let that happen. She had a lot of pride in her independence, making her own way in life, and taking no one's shit. In fact, she would stay married to Ranma forever, just to piss off that annoying gymnast.

Nabiki winced at herself for that last thought. She really had to do something about Ranma as well. He may have given up on patching things with Akane, but her mind was still attuned to extricating herself from his heroic tendencies, the leading cause of his cocky, affable charm. She had no desire to be another notch on his egotistical belt; she would not allow herself to be swayed and swoon over him whenever he came to her aid. He flew into the face of everything she stood for, and letting her world be shaken any more than it had been was like divorcing Ranma – not an option.

Nabiki needed a plan and fast. The clock was ticking, and she couldn't afford to waste seconds in indecision. Dealing with Kodachi and getting rid of those tapes right now took precedence over everything else. Perhaps she could use Ranma – not for his muscle, but as a simple decoy – while she alone completed her goal and reasserted herself as the independent, self-sufficient young woman she took pride in being.

"Yo, Nabiki," Ranma said, standing in her line of vision. "You okay? Looks like you're spacing out on me."

She looked at him for a moment or two, a slow smile spreading across her lips. "I'm better than okay, Ranma-baby. I'm doing just fine."

He couldn't help but feel a cold shiver skip down his spine. "Um, all right, cool. So, you got—"

"Got to go, Ranma-baby," Nabiki said abruptly. "The day is already looking up, and I don't have time to waste." Grabbing her bath stuffs, she skimmed out of the room.

The martial artist cocked an eyebrow, wondering aloud. "What was that all about? She already come up with something about the tape?" Shrugging to himself, he knelt down beside his undisturbed tatami bed and burrowed into his back pack, pulling out his road-weary kempo gi and changing into it. Then he went downstairs, bypassing Kasumi who was heading towards the kitchen, and made a beeline for the dojo.

Beginning his warm-ups, Ranma let his mind wander. _Something's up with Nabiki. I don't know what, but I can just feel something is just… just wrong._ He mulled over a few things mentally. The foremost thought was about the blackmail tape. Kodachi using it as leverage against Nabiki, that could have been expected. Finding out Kuno had invested into its making, that was new. Then again, not really; he was a pervert anyway. Spying on Nabiki like that, though… Was there no end to his obsessions? Wasn't he content with Akane and his girl-half?

Reality came back to Ranma quickly, as his train of thought affected his leg, sending him off-balanced from one practice kick. Quickly reframing his thoughts, he focused on his practice and deigned not to visit his concerns until after breakfast. Somehow, he needed to do something about Kodachi, but he wasn't nearly as good in thinking up a plan. He'd have to ask Nabiki if she had something up her sleeve.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nabiki had finished her bath, humming a little as she donned her school uniform. She had come up with a plan. "A bit brutish, of course," she spoke to herself, making sure everything was in place and immaculate on her. "But I'm not going to be another damsel in distress for _him_." One quick glance in the mirror gave her reason to smile. "Done right, and he'll be the one that'll need saving." She chuckled to herself. "Oh, yes, Nabiki, you'll be back on top of things very soon. But first, I need something." 

Coming down the stairs, Nabiki made a beeline for the kitchen. Her eyes lighted upon Kasumi cutting up a vegetable near the stove, and for a moment, a simmering pot of resentment and anger began to boil in her belly. However, she forced the feeling down, and smiled. "Hey, sis," she said, breezing into the kitchen, approaching her older sibling.

Kasumi paused in her work, looking up. "Oh, hello, Nabiki. How are you feeling today?"

"Never better." Stopping just before Kasumi, Nabiki cleared her throat. "Look, I just wanted to apologize about yesterday. I was pretty bitchy, and…" _Trail off, let her bite._

Setting the knife down, Kasumi spoke. "No, it's all right. I suppose if our roles were reversed, I would have every right to be angry at you, too. I only wanted to help Akane have faith in the strength of love."

Nabiki involuntarily winced as the verbal knife was jammed into her back and twisted sharply. "Look, we all do some stupid things some times. But we… we…" She looked away, unable to face up to her sister as the recent blackmail effort gave Nabiki a fresh reminder of what _her_ "stupid things" had resulted. "We just gotta deal with it."

Sighing sadly, Kasumi spoke again. "I'm so sorry for interfering, Nabiki. Will you forgive me?"

The move surprised Nabiki, clearly not expecting an apology, especially this early on in the game, especially one that seemed so heartfelt and sincere. _What the hell's going on,_ she wondered to herself as she worked into her response.

"Hey, it's all right, sis. You just thought you were doing the right thing, that's all." A moment's hesitation later, Nabiki leaned in and gave Kasumi a quick hug, careful not to get herself dirty on Kasumi's apron. "I forgive you."

The older woman beamed. "Thank you, little sister."

Quickly changing the subject, Nabiki said, "Oh, I saw Daddy a little while ago. I think he wanted to see you about something."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Might have been urgent. Who knows with him, though?"

"Oh, my, I better see what he wants, then," Kasumi said, removing her apron.

"By the way sis, if you see Ranma this morning, tell him I'll see him later at school. I'm going to take care of a few things before class."

"All right, Nabiki. I made your lunch just before you came in."

"Okay, sis."

"Have a good morning, little sister."

"You, too, sis."

On that, Kasumi exited the kitchen. Sighing in relief, Nabiki grabbed both her lunch, and the one item she really came down for. She carefully tucked it away into her bag, then quickly left the house before anyone could stop her. A few minutes later, Kasumi returned to the kitchen puzzled, as her father had not been seeking anyone this morning. Pushing it aside mentally, Kasumi finished her kitchen work, and made Ranma and Akane's lunches, then began cleaning up. As she breezed by the cutlery block, her eye caught something. Pausing, she took quick stock over her kitchen supplies, counting and remembering everything where she puts it. Then she recounted, since the numbers did not add up. Her brows knitted together, placing a frown on her face.

"Oh, my. What did I do with that paring knife?"

* * *

After his workout, Ranma took a quick bath, then entered the dining room, where Kasumi had breakfast on. Nabiki wasn't there, he noticed, but he shrugged mentally and sat down to partake of his fill. She was probably soaking herself into a Japanese prune or something. 

"Oh, little brother," Kasumi said. The title _little brother_ still took some getting used to, he realized, as he forced himself to cough up pieces of rice that tried to pay his lungs a visit. "Nabiki left for school early, but she said she will see you there later."

"Oh, okay, thanks, Kasumi." _Nabiki already has a plan? Cool. I just hope I don't have to do something stupid again._

A few moments later, Akane wandered into the dining room, cleansed and ready to eat breakfast. However, one look at Ranma's face, and her appetite waned. "Oh, morning, Ranma."

He looked up at the mention of his name. "Um, hey, Akane."

The only sound made in the next several seconds was Soun rustling his morning paper when he flipped to the Business section.

"Akane," Kasumi said at last. "Have a seat. Your breakfast will get cold."

Eyes darting everyway but in Ranma's direction, Akane sat down at the table and start to eat slowly. Again, silence reigned supreme, chopsticks clacking against porcelain in erratic, staccato rhythm being the only freedom of sound enjoyed. Finally, she pushed away her dish half-eaten. "I'm sorry sis, but I better go to school now."

"All right," Kasumi said. "Ran—" She cut herself off suddenly.

The teen looked up a little puzzled. "Hm?"

After a second of indecision, Kasumi shook her head. "It's nothing now."

Grunting, Ranma returned to eating. However, one eye kept looking in Akane's direction as she walked away. A few minutes later, he pushed his mostly-empty bowl away. "Hey, I better run to school, too, Kasumi."

She nodded. "Don't forget your lunch."

"Okay." He took a quick detour to the kitchen. Noticing there were two lunches sitting there – one for Akane, no doubt – he collected both of them, then darted out of the house. Akane hadn't gone very far, as he could still see here from the house gate. Tightening his grip, he started off, intent on catching up with his ex-fiancée.

* * *

Nabiki stood by the gate of Furinken High School, scanning the sparse early morning crowd. "Where is he?" A couple of seconds later, her eyes lighted upon the target of her desire: Tatewaki Kuno. Pulling away from her perch, she made a beeline towards the kendoist. 

Halfway there, Kuno noticed Nabiki's approach and turned to face her. "Good morning, Nabiki Saotome."

She smiled sweetly. "Good morning to you, Tatewaki."

He perked an eyebrow at the sudden familiarity. "Is there something the matter?"

"What makes you say that?" Taking his arm, Nabiki pulled him around the corner of the school, away from prying eyes.

Before Kuno could respond, he felt something sharp and slender pressed hard against his crotch.

"Try anything, and I'll lop off your little sword. And don't ever call me Saotome again." For emphasis, she jerked the paring knife a little, making him wince at the thought.

"What's the meaning of this, Nabiki?" He wanted to shout, but circumstances forced him to be more discreet. "Has your marriage to that foul sorcerer finally driven off your sanity?"

"Possibly, though we wouldn't be here at this point if not for you paying a certain person to do some spying on me in a most personal moment."

"I have no idea what—"

She almost cut him off. "Don't play games with me, bitch. I know you had to invest in Gosunkugi's scheme to videotape me in my room."

"Oh, that little issue." Relaxing as much as one can with a blade threatening to make him less than a man, Kuno spoke. "Of course, I provided money to that spooky boy to give me verification of the validity of yours and Ranma's marriage. How he did it, I was not privy to the knowledge, nor did I want to be as such."

Her eyes narrowed. "You expect me to believe that?"

"Nabiki, in all honesty, I would rather face Emma-oh naked and weaponless that to expose myself to whatever perversions that foul sorcerer may want to perform on you, and to look upon you dressed in anything less than your school uniform is disrespectful to your honor… not to mention you do nothing for me in the first place."

"Hmm. I'm not sure whether I should be flattered or insulted. But your sword may yet remain intact."

"'May yet'?"

"Your sister has the tape. I thought you were in on it, too, but I may be wrong now."

Kuno closed his eyes and leaned his head back. "That would explain why she has remained in the video room since I arrived home yesterday. I believe she was there this morning when I left for school."

"Oh?"

"I thought it was strange, but I did not inquire on the matter. As long as she remains out of trouble, it matters little to me."

"Nice family life…" she said dryly.

Kuno ignored that comment completely. "I will aid your cause as much as possible, Nabiki. Without you in that foul sorcerer's path, he may well seize hold over Akane Tendo's mind and bewitch her once again, and there's no telling what's to become of my fiery pigtailed goddess." He cleared his throat once before continuing. "Also, I will not let word of my sister's misdeeds concerning you, nor of this incident slip through my lips, as per my paying homage to your pure and noble selflessness to marry the fiendish Ranma for the greater good."

He was quickly getting on her last nerve with all his spouting about her "sacrifice" to get married to Ranma, but it wouldn't do to renege on his cool willingness to help her keep her name unsoiled by lobbing off his two nutty friends. "All right." Nabiki slowly removed the blade, tucking it into her bag.. "Tell me about the layout of your home."

"What would you need with such information?"

Nabiki gave him a half-lidded look. "Why, I'm going to pay your little sister a visit later, Kuno-baby."

* * *

Akane, for her part, was lost in her own thoughts, mostly oblivious to the world. Idly, she kicked a rock off the painted brick wall that separated the houses from the immediate view of passersby. In a way, she felt the same way – separated, isolated from everything. 

How could things get so out of hand in just a week? One day, she was engaged to Ranma, the next, he's now married to Nabiki. Nabiki, of all people!

What happened between the two beforehand? She was so sure it was just another one of her malicious pranks, but the more she tried to get Ranma back, the more she ended up propelling him away. Was she the cause of their union? Was there something going on between them from the beginning? Was Ranma just getting back at her for throwing him away in the first place?

Akane wanted to cry again, like she did every night since Ranma and Nabiki got married, since she heard them consummate their marriage, listening to their wild, carnal desires and groans like one would watch a train wreck – horrified and rooted in a sickening curiosity to see it through, no matter how many tears were shed for the loss of others. It just didn't feel real, like a scene from a science fiction movie, but it happened all right. And now, she had to live with that day for the rest of her life.

_But how the hell can I live with that, when I see him sitting there like nothing happened?_

"Boy, you're really slacking off on your training."

Startled, Akane whirled around and found herself face-to-face with Ranma. Her heart pounded in her chest, a thousand different feelings shooting through her body in a second. "Um, ah, hi… Ranma."

He stood there, his mouth slowly working up words. "You… forgot you lunch." He thrust the box towards her.

"Thanks." She took it from him tentatively, then started to turn around.

"Akane."

She tried to will her legs to continue forward, but they stopped of their own accord, feeling heavy as lead. She didn't turn around, though. "Yeah?"

The silence that strode between them was heavy, foreboding, blotting out everything but the other. Finally, Ranma cut through the quietude with his blunt tongue. "Look about the wedding, I don't—"

"Don't!".

Surprised by her outburst, Ranma fell silent.

Akane was just as shocked at herself, but her mouth began working out her thoughts into words before she could stop herself. "It doesn't matter, anyway. What's done is done. Too late to change anything now."

Ranma took a step forward. "Look, Akane, what—"

So caught up in his attempts of trying to right wrongs, he was caught flatfooted when she suddenly whipped around and grabbed the front of his shirt, yanking him forward. For a split second, it seemed like Akane was about to either hit him, or make out with him in broad daylight. Neither scenario happened. Instead, he saw her eyes, rimming with tears, flashing anger and sadness at the same time.

"Don't try to make me feel better, Ranma. I messed up. I know that, and I'm going to accept that, much as I don't like it."

"But Akane—"

She sighed, looking down. "Look, if you really want to make me feel better, promise me you will never – and I mean NEVER – hurt Nabiki or let her get hurt like me."

His brows shot up in surprise. "What?"

"Promise me that!" Her fist holding his shirt trembled, though her grip was just as firm.

"Okay, okay! I promise!"

Sighing in relief, she slowly looked at him again. "I'm going to hold you to that, Ranma. Break your word, and I'll kill you myself."

Straightening his shirt, he just looked at her in mute shock.

The rush of fear and adrenaline that flowed through her limbs dissipated, and Akane felt lightheaded and sick. "I'm going back home; I don't feel well now."

"Well, let me help you back."

She shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. Just hurry to school, and remember your promise."

He reached out a hand to her, but after a few seconds of hovering, he withdrew it without touching her. "Yeah… all right, Akane. That's what you want, you got it"

"Thank you, Ranma."

He grunting in response, turning away from her and started running towards the school. Akane's eyes stayed on him, watching his form gradually shrink until it disappeared around a corner. Then she started going back home, her legs turning into rubber, refusing to support her weight several times. But she forced herself to go on, ignoring the scrapes and bruises each fall served her.

They hurt a lot less than what she felt in her chest.

In short order, she barreled through the front door, not bothering to take off her shoes, and ended up crashing into a bewildered Kasumi who was just coming into the den, toppling the older sister backwards and onto the floor, Akane laying on top of her haplessly. The younger girl broke into tears dammed for too long.

"Akane! What's the matter?"

"Oh, God, Kasumi! It's really over this time! It's really over between us…" She blubbered into Kasumi's blouse, clutching her tightly.

Kasumi only held her in response, letting her younger sister cry everything out. Soun came to the dining room door to see what was the commotion, his eyes spying the two heaped on the floor embracing each other. Closing his eyes, he breathed deeply, then moved away from the door.

* * *

"Let me get this straight," Ranma said to Nabiki as she changed out of her uniform and into a pair of jeans, his back turned to her. He could see her shadow as she danced with her clothes thanks to the afternoon sun, but did not feel the need to mention this for one reason or another. "You want me to go over to Kuno's house, and keep Kodachi busy while you sneak in from another side and find the tapes?" 

"Of course," Nabiki responded, tugging a black t-shirt over her head, then fluffing out her hair.. "Tell her that I demanded a divorce and threw you out, leaving you with no place to go, and that she was the first person to come to mind. Once you're inside, keep her distracted in the living room. Don't let her go anywhere else until I give you the signal. Oh, you can turn around now"

He shuddered slightly, thinking about having to keep Kodachi busy, then looked in her direction.. "And what kind of signal is that going to be?"

"You'll know it when it comes." Truthfully, Nabiki hadn't thought of anything in that manner. Not her problem, though; her whole life and future were at stake, and she could not afford to waste time trying to make everyone as comfortable as possible. Besides, Ranma would probably flee the house in short order, with Kodachi hot on his trail, making her task a whole lot easier.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just fight back with fire. I mean, we got her on that tape she sent you. Can't we do something with that instead?"

"Like what, go to the police? Blackmail her back, threatening to ruin her family name and honor with the tape, and everyone that was in on it?"

"Well, I guess something like that."

Nabiki gave him one of the coldest, most intense stares he had ever experienced. He literally shivered unconsciously under her eyes, his legs refusing to respond for a moment. "First off," she started off slowly, each word measured. "I have more faith in the Yakuza than I do in our own government and the police. How do you take an organization seriously when its members constantly try to shame criminals into submission? Secondly, I don't want anyone else to see the tape. I don't want anyone to even know it exists. Lastly, trying to entrap Kodachi in the same manner is futile. Even if we were successful, she'll be like a cornered animal. Having nothing else to lose, she will strike out with every bit of fury and power she has before she goes down in flames, hoping to drag us down with her."

He huffed. "I don't like it." He had wanted to say something to Nabiki about Akane when he got to school, but he didn't see her until lunch. By then, he couldn't think of a way to bring it up, and the more he thought about it, the more he decided to just handle it himself. It was the manly thing to do, surely.

"Look, Ranma. This is the best way. If I approach Kodachi, she's likely to try and kill me before—"

"Like hell! Ain't no way I'm letting that happen!"

Nabiki stared at Ranma's set facial features for a moment, her heart skipping a beat. Smacking herself mentally, she recovered from his impassioned outburst. "So, you will have to go in and keep her busy while I dig up the tapes."

He sighed. "Okay, whatever. Just be careful in there, okay?" Ranma couldn't help but feel he was forgetting to mention something important. However, every time he tried to grasp that wild strand of thought, it would flitter away, hide behind something else in his mind. Mentally, he shrugged; if it was important, he would remember it soon enough.

Nabiki smirked. "Yes, dear." Snuggling up on Ranma suddenly, Nabiki made a motion to kiss him.

His eyes bugged out, and he jerked away. "Whoa, whoa, hey! Cut that out!"

She snickered into her fist. "Oh, Ranma, Ranma…" Clearing her throat, Nabiki continued in a more serious tone. "Stop worrying so much. You do as I say, and we'll be back home in no time. Now let's go. Do whatever it takes to keep her distracted."

Ranma gave her a look, then shrugged. "Okay, okay. Let's just get this over with." On that, he left Nabiki's room.

Watching his back, Nabiki frowned deeply to herself. Then she walked over to her desk and opened a small drawer. Pulling out a small, high speed camera from within, she checked to make sure it had a fresh roll of film properly loaded, then stuffed it into her right pocket. _This had better work; I can't take much more of Ranma's doting concern._ As an afterthought, she rummaged in her closet. "Now what did I do with that bag?"

Ranma found himself sneezing violently once as he was coming down the stairs.. "Man, is it dusty or something?" he said to himself, waiting in the den for Nabiki. A few moments later, she stepped onto the landing as well. She had a large, brown, empty gym bag slung over her shoulder, the strap pulling tautly across her body. Instead of heading towards the front door, she turned in the direction of the kitchen.

"Go on ahead. I'll be out in five minutes, to keep her less suspicious."

He shrugged again and walked out the front door. Nabiki, popped into the kitchen, grabbing a small plastic container and filling it up with water. Another few steps, and she had obtained bleach from the laundry room. Pouring a little of the overwhelming cleanser into the container, she carefully placed the paring knife in the liquid. Setting the bleach in front of the sink – Kasumi should get the hint, though she'd probably be confused as hell – Nabiki mentally prepared herself one last time, then trekked out of the house to reclaim her life.

Thirty minutes later, Ranma found himself standing in front of the massive Kuno Estate black-painted gates. _Here goes nothing._ He buzzed the house from the intercom. A few moments went by, then an older, masculine voice broke through the speaker.

"Kuno Estate. With whom do you wish to see?"

"Hey, my name is Ranma and I—"

The speaker crackled again with a much more energetic and decidedly female voice. "Ranma dearest, is that you?"

_Kodachi,_ the martial artist thought to himself. "Yeah, it's me, Kodachi."

"Oh, please come in, Ranma dearest! Pardon me, I will be there shortly!"

There was a heavy buzzing sound. A tingling sensation of foreboding crawled down his back as the gate yawned before like a giant mouth, but he forced himself to plod forth. Hopefully, this whole event would be over and done with inside of ten minutes.

Moments later, he was standing at the front door. One ring of the bell, and a tall, slight man appearing to be in his thirties answered the door immediately, looking immaculate as the Kuno family butler. He gave the martial artist a slow once-over, eyes narrowed, fingers purposefully adjusting his silver-rimmed monocle. After the silent inspection, he asked, "Ranma Saotome?"

Ranma nodded, giving the butler a critical eye. "That's me."

"Enter." The butler stepped to one side, holding the door open for the guest. Ranma padded into the lion's den called a house, eyes darting to and fro, checking for anything that would spell his doom. That meant everything in this case.

Seconds later, the first – and largest – threat to his safety appeared cresting down from the top of the stairs. "Ranma dearest! How nice it is to see you! To what may I owe your unexpected visitation?"

_Unexpected my ass. I bet she was banking on it._. "Well, Kodachi, it's like this…"

* * *

"Hmm… Ranma should have since drawn Kodachi out of the video room," Nabiki said to herself as she strolled to the intercom. Adjusting the bulky bag with one hand, she ignored the buzzer; instead, she punched in the code to the gates – a nice, late wedding "gift" from Kuno in addition to all his reverent worship. As expected, the metal structure swung open for her, and she quickly made her way over to the left side of the house, checking for the second window on that side. Peeking in, she saw Kuno in the small study room reading a book at the desk. _Hagakure,_ she noted, _Book of the Samurai. How appropriate._ Checking the room for any other occupants, she then tapped out the code he gave her. 

_Taptaptap. Tap-tap-tap. Taptaptap._

Without looking up from his book, he stood up, walked over to the window, unlatched it, and pulled it up. Nabiki hoisted herself up and pulled herself through, landing on a pillow left just underneath the sill. _How thoughtful of Kuno…_

"What a noisy bird," he commented to himself, still reading his book as he closed the window, re-latching it. Then he sat back down at the desk. "Almost as noisy as my dear sister's guest. At least she's in the living quarters, away from here."

Nabiki smiled to herself. Kuno would give some aid, though he'll look the other way. Literally, in this case. At any rate, he said all she needed to know. Ranma had made it in, and got Kodachi away from the video room. Quietly, she opened the study room door, checked to make sure the coast was clear, and slipped out, making her way to the video room.

In the living room, Kodachi was cooing over a dejected-looking Ranma as he sat on an expensive-looking couch. Hors d'oeuvres, which he suspected his hostess made herself, remained on a small table close by undisturbed. "Poor dear, that heartless wretch of a woman did all that to you, my dearest?"

"Yeah…" His acting was bad, but somehow, it made him look more defeated and dejected. "I should have known I meant nothing to her."

Kodachi smiled even more broadly "Do not worry about a thing, my dearest, I will take care of that harridan for you. Tea?"

He looked surprised, but fought down the urge to shout. "No… don't concern yourself with her. I wouldn't want to… trouble you, yeah."

"Oh, it will be no trouble at all, Ranma dearest. In fact, I have already constructed the means to her personal destruction."

The term "personal destruction" confused the young Saotome. "You have? How's that?"

"You said she seeks divorce, correct?"

"Yeah…" He was getting a bad feeling about this.

"What if you were to pre-empt her by filing for divorce yourself, on grounds of infidelity?"

"What? That's crazy! I couldn't do that!"

"You're right. You need proof, and that, I have for you."

"You do?"

She smiled and, though it was meant to be heartwarming, it chilled Ranma almost to his soul. "I do, all on tape."

* * *

There have been few times Nabiki has ever been at a loss for words. Strangely enough, almost each one of those times has involved Ranma in some way. And now, she needed to tally up another moment of wordless response. Involving Ranma, and yet… not. 

Upon entering the room, Nabiki noted a stack of unwrapped, unlabeled tapes in one corner of the room next to the pile of freshly bought and unopened ones. An expensive computer slept on nearby, surrounded by various cords, some running into the back of a set of two VCRs and television monitor close by. In one of the VCRs, another unmarked tape had been rewound and ejected, but not removed. Out of curiosity, she played the tape in the empty, top VCR.

She expected the unmarked tape to be a copy of her and Ranma's infamous wedding. What came up on the screen was a complete shock, though. Sure, she was present in the video, but… who the hell's the guy she's kissing!

* * *

"You did what!" Ranma said, almost squeaking in stunned shock. 

"Just a little video editing, overlaying another man's face over yours. It pained me to cover up your exquisite features, but it was necessary. Not the full tape, mind you, only about ten minutes' worth, but it'll be more than enough to destroy her and anything she may hold over you, including any chance of you impregnating her."

Ranma's mind was blank for several seconds, his face stuck in an open-mouth gape.

Kodachi blushed under his stare. "Oh, my, Ranma dearest… the way you look at me so…" Still blushing, she turned away from him slightly, covering her mouth. "We should wait until divorce proceedings are finalized, which shouldn't take long in family court."

"Nabiki ain't gonna like this…" he mumbled, the first lines of thought coming to him after his mental server crash and reboot. "Akane's gonna kill me…"

Kodachi shyly looked at Ranma. "Oh, do not let your become so worried over those… peasants. You are more than welcomed to stay here with me." She suddenly blushed again, turning away demurely. "Well, not _with_ me, not yet." Looking up, she quick rose to her feet. "Come, Ranma dearest, let me show you that harridan's downfall."

Remembering Nabiki, he shot out of his seat, grasping Kodachi by her shoulders firmly. "No! Let's not!"

"Oh, my…" Kodachi's eyes changed into a half-lidded desirous gaze, her face flushed. "You're so beautiful when you're forceful…"

Suddenly too aware of his predicament, Ranma quickly let Kodachi go and returned to his seat. "C-come on. L-let's just sit here a while longer…" he said, patting a spot an arm's length away from him.

She cleared her throat. "Y-yes… I almost forgot myself, Ranma dearest." She slowly sat down, looking away as to cool her flustered cheeks. However, she was now sitting much closer to the young Saotome, a detail he could scarcely overlook.

_Dammit, Nabiki, were the hell's your signal!

* * *

_

"Dammit, Kodachi, where the hell's your screwdriver!" Nabiki's teeth were gritted so hard, they could powder granite between them.

She had quickly tallied up and bagged about 30 possible copies of the doctored video she needed to destroy. Kodachi's computer hard drive had to go as well; unfortunately, she could not find a screwdriver laying around the room, nor did she have the strength to just yank it out. Kuno wouldn't assist her in this, she already knew, so somehow she had to get Ranma in the room. But he was busy keeping that spoiled rich bitch busy. Plus she was bound and determined to save her own ass, so he was already dismissed from her mind. However, she had more pressing concerns on hand than inflating Ranma's macho ego.

She had yet to find the master tape.

It was nowhere in the room so that could only mean she either hid it, or she has it on her person. Banking on the smarter thing to do – hiding it – Nabiki quickly peeked outside the door. Seeing no one around, she stealthily stole her way upstairs, making another beeline directly to where Kuno said Kodachi's room would be.. Thanking the gods for small wonders – as expansive the Kuno mansion was, they had very few people catering to their whims, whether it was on purpose, or by sanity's design she did not care to speculate – she crept into the lavish room without being spotted.

She did not have far to search. Laying open on her desktop was a book. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Kodachi's diary, an entry penned in today. Nabiki spared a moment to read it.

_Dear Diary. I finally completed my special project. That damned Nabiki Tendo will not dare bother Ranma dearest and I ever again, so long as I having the original version. For now, my pet green turtle will guard it well. I suspect she will try something to gain it back – peasants never learn._

"She has a turtle guarding it?" Nabiki chuckled. "Does it know ninjitsu and swings nunchucks, too?"

Downstairs, Ranma was doing his best to keep Kodachi from leaving the living room. Most of them usually involved grabbing her and making her sit down again, but the effect that had upon her creeped him out more. He could almost feel the heat of her desire flood the room by now, and he desperately wanted out. It was a small wonder she hadn't used any paralysis powder or something of the like on him already. Then he reconsidered that thought – he had neither eaten, nor drunken anything Kodachi offered, though it all looked very appealing, and his stomach was starting to get at him, reminding the martial artist that he hadn't had any food since lunch. However, the idea of the diabolical Black Rose having her way with him while he could do nothing frightened off any urge to eat within throwing distance of her, and he can throw pretty far, indeed.

Speaking of which, he really wish he could throw _her_ pretty far, too – she all but lived in his lap now, the way she invaded his personal space. Plus she kept glancing at him with those soft bedroom eyes. Her mouth may have been saying "no" and "we must wait," but if he made the slightest motion for it, she would take him right then and there on the couch, and to hell with whoever came around to watch. The last few times, he resorted to talking her back down., which wasn't nearly as dangerous as grabbing her, but it made matters even more complicated for him: the lack of touching her now seemed to make her want him even _more_ than before! Truly bizarre!

_Shit, Nabiki! Gimme my fucking sign!_

Then he saw her outside through the glass doors, though his brows furrowed as she knelt in front of the large pond in the Kuno backyard. _What the hell is she doing down by the water?_ He tried to see more, but Kodachi noticed his averted gaze.

"What is it, Ranma dearest?" she asked, her head starting to turn in the same direction.

Without thinking, he grabbed her head and yanked it back to face him. A huge mistake, he realized right after he done it. The burning lustful gaze returned at full strength, heralding something else.

"Oh, Ranma dearest, I can't take this torture anymore!"

"Wha—" His words were smothered back down his throat, her lips crushing against his hotly. Completely floored, he flailed his arms and legs wildly, trying to get up, get out, and get free from the Black Rose as she entwined her arms around his neck and shoulders, holding fast to him.

"Jackpot!" Nabiki said to herself, lifting up one of the numerous stones outlining the huge backyard pond. This chosen one had been recently moved, she observed. Underneath it lay a small green strongbox. No combination lock on this brand, only a small clasp, which she hurriedly popped open and looked inside.

The gods must be smiling upon her now.

There was still a chance the tape she just found may well be a fake, so she would be quick in verifying it before she left the Kuno estate. She didn't come all this way to be tricked and sent home empty-handed. But she really wanted to shout for joy. Somehow, she just knew this was the real McCoy.

Straightening up she was about to flag at Ranma, but came up short as he was busy making out with the person responsible for all her current woes. A flare of anger blew through her as she reached into her pocket for the camera she put there, just in case she got a chance to put Ranma and his heroics back into their places: out of her life. She raised the unit to her eye, then lowered it, feeling a sudden wave of shame and guilt wash over her. She was just put in the same predicament not more than thirty minutes ago. What kind of message would that be sending if she turned around and paid good fortune with ill?

She debated with herself for a second or two, deciding her answer to that question. It soon was clear what kind of message she wanted to send, especially to Ranma: _I don't give a damn._ Again, she raised the camera to her eye, readying for a shot.

Struggling to break free of the Kiss of Death, Kodachi style, Ranma caught a glimpse of Nabiki standing at the glass door, but he never noticed the camera; the huge thing rising out of the pond behind her had his attention. And suddenly he remembered what he had forgotten about much earlier.

"GREEN TURTLE! RUN!"

Both young women halted in their current actions to look at him bewilderedly.

That was when Nabiki noticed the monstrous shadow on the ground, heard the guttural, inhuman declaration. Dread filled her stomach as she dared to look behind her. All she could see was a rapidly darkening tunnel of red rimmed full of sharp teeth, reeking of rotting death and scum, the "voice" echoing in her soul the same sentiments. She never had a chance to get a thought into her head, only watch the cave of death and damnation close in slow motion, taking her into its depths.

A heartbeat later, the jaws of the huge alligator snapped shut, cracking the air forcefully, the heavy sounds of snapping and crushing plain and sickening to the ears. Especially to Nabiki's; that could have been her being snapped and crushed, she dully realized instead of the gym bag of dubbed tapes she was carrying. Her world opened up more, showing that she was not standing on her feet; the way she felt at that moment, she would not have had the strength to do so.

"Whew, that was too close! You all right, Nabiki?"

"Huh?" She almost didn't recognize who was talking to her, but it all came crashing back to her. Her head tilted up to face the owner of that voice. "R-Ranma?"

"You didn't get hurt or nothin', right?"

"I… I think I'm fine." She did a customary body check, making sure everything was where they were moments before. Then she saw she still held onto the original tape. "I got the tape. Wow."

"Yeah, that's nice. Time to go!"

"W-wait!"

Ranma didn't have time to hear her protest. He immediately sprang to his left, dodging the mammoth reptile's lunge, then hopped back a few feet, avoiding its jaws.

Nabiki clung tightly to her savior. "Where's Kodachi! We have to get back to the video room, quickly!"

He grunted, clearing a low-swinging tail sweep, then dove over to his right. "Threw her off me. I think she's knocked out, or something. Didn't have time to check!" He barely dodged another swipe. "Damn, Nabiki, we gotta stop meeting like this!"

"Forget that! We need to get her hard drive now!"

He paused for a split second. "Get her what?"

He saw it coming in, and again, he tried to dodge. However, with Nabiki in his arms, coupled with his hesitation, he wasn't fast enough. Green Turtle's giant tail caught him, snatching him out from underneath the young woman and sending him bodily into its watery home.

Nabiki landed hard on her rump, grunting in pain. She knew any moment the cutely-named monster was going to turn its sights on her. However, her body refused to respond to her commands. Fear had paralyzed her completely, even before the gleaming, reptilian greenish-yellow eyes bore hard into her soul, designating her as its next meal. Its massive jaws started to swing open.

"Oh, no you don't!" came a shrill, feminine shout. Ranma, changed into his girl form, zipped over Nabiki, both hands together as he brought then crashing down onto Green Turtle's snout. He got the desired effect: the alligator recoiled from the sudden blow, snapping its mouth shut. While still in the air, he ripped open his Chinese shirt and swooped down on it like an eagle, managing to slide its closed mouth into the opening between his shirt and back. Twirling his female body forward, his arms jerked out of the shirt, though he held fast to the sleeves, and planted both of his too-small bare feet firmly on the underside of its jaw. Rapidly, he yanked and tied the sleeves together tightly, preventing the huge reptile from opening its mouth, then bracing himself against the floor, he thrust his legs up forcefully, pitching the gator's head back and exposing its soft underbelly for a few moments. It was more than enough time for Ranma. bodily propel himself up to his feet and, in the same fluid motion, drive his fist home into that vulnerable flesh with the force of a thousand punches compressed within the span of one second. The monstrous animal's body flew across the living room, crashing through one side of the open doorway and shattering the bottom of the stairs into splinters.

He flicked up the middle finger of his punching hand at the unconscious beast. "Suck on that, you overgrown suitcase."

The immediate threat taken care of, he spared a look around the room. One glance to his left informed him that Kodachi was, indeed, slumped against the wall, unconscious, but breathing. A spiderweb indention marked where her head had impacted, and from the look of it, she hit the surface very hard. Most likely she would not come to for a few hours. Another scan gave him view of the butler from earlier poking his head out from one room, joined by a maid.

Ranma held out his hand in their direction. "Want some?" he said, glaring down his arm, his fingers beckoning.

Their reply was to duck back into the room, slamming the door shut quickly.

"Smooth," Nabiki said, forcing herself to stand erect. "At least you're wearing an undershirt. Let's get that hard drive and get the hell out of this madhouse." She walked unsteadily towards the wet pile that once was her gym bag. She started to reach for it, but on second thought, she picked up a couple of the table doilies nearby. Stuffing the original tape into her right pocket, she wrapped the decorative cloths around her hands, then grabbed the sodden mess. Turning back to Ranma, she said. "This way."

Ranma held her no argument. He followed her to the video room, and extracted the hard drive Nabiki wanted. He knew nothing about computers, but even he was pretty sure that Kodachi's computer would never work again under any circumstances.

* * *

It must have been after eight, Ranma mused, as the sun had fallen beneath the horizon, making way for the moon. The two newlyweds did not speak since they left the Kuno estate, unless Nabiki had a command on her lips. Every now and then, Ranma glanced in her direction, but she was completely unreadable, even as they were watching the pile of tapes burn up into ashes and slag.

He wandered around the miniature inferno devouring the perverted memories of something he wasn't even sure he wanted to remember. It hadn't even been a week they were married, and already it felt like it had been months since they had received that late "gift." Now that everything had been taken care of, all the parts of the tragedy-in-the-making gathered and destroyed, Nabiki should at least be relieved. But as he studied her profile, she still wore that blank expression. Then he noticed something in her pocket.

"Hey, Nabiki, isn't that the original tape?"

She didn't seem to even register his presence at first, but slowly she looked down. Her hand pulled free the tape, then transferred the unlabeled item into her other hand and dove again into her, fishing out a slim camera. She studied the latter item for a long time, turning it over and over in her hand like a child studying an alphabet block.

She swore quietly. "Damn you…"

He perked a brow. "What's that you said?"

She looked directly at him for the first time since that afternoon. "If you weren't there today," she began. "I'd probably be dead by now."

He shrugged. "Yeah, probably so. Kodachi's—"

"Is this how things are always going to be?"

"Huh?"

"I come up with some plan, something goes wrong, you come to my rescue, and we do it all over again. Is that my fate? To fall and swoon over your heroic acts? To become weak and pathetic and unable to do anything on my own like I've always done until now?"

Ranma furrowed his brows. "Whoa, wait, what's going on here?"

Nabiki looked away from him. "You want to hear something funny? I thought I could do this on my own. I had to get uncharacteristically aggressive with Kuno this morning – I mean, I risked getting dismissed from Furinken and probably some jail time just having a knife on my person, not to mention threatening to use it on Kuno – but I didn't want your help. I wanted you out of my life so badly, I—"

His eyes grew wide as Nabiki poured out her soul to him, telling him everything he never wanted to know about her life since their wedding. He wasn't even sure she was aware of the tears dripping down her face as she uncharacteristically made herself naked and vulnerable before him. He guessed she was under strain some time before, but this was nothing like he expected.

"—and I couldn't even take that photo without worrying about moral ramifications. I tried to embarrass you, sell you, get rid of you, destroy you, and yet, you continue to come to my rescue, risking your own life to do so. Is this how I will always live? Dependant on you to wipe my nose every second? Is it!" Her voice cracked with raw emotion on the last sentence, her eyes cutting at him.

"I…" Ranma started to say, then trailed off._ What would the man do at this point?_ No answer fell from the stars and graced him with the knowledge; he wondered if there was even such a knowledge in the first place. So he fell back onto his training over the years for the solution. However, the only one that he could think of was the Saotome Secret Technique, and running away wouldn't—wait a second. He quickly recalled what his father had told him while teaching him the maneuver, then he rapidly whipped up a plan of attack based on that one scrap of true wisdom quickly launched it at Nabiki, hoping it'll do the trick.

"I think you're cute!"

For a few moments, no other sound could be heard for miles around. A page of old newspaper gently blew through the lot. Then she uttered a single word very quietly.

"What?" She blinked and shook her head in disbelief. "You think I'm--?"

Ranma released the breath he wasn't even aware of holding and smiled, pressing his advantage. "Yeah, real cute! And smart! Smarter than anyone I know!"

"W-well, I am, but what—?"

"So what 'cha worrying about? You're Nabiki. You think of really smart plans and they go off without a problem most of the time. So this one didn't work out like you thought. Big deal. Even the best like me screw up once in a while. You know what I do, though? I don't worry about it and keep on doing as I've been taught and raised. The world ain't gonna end over one mistake. Just don't make it again, and it's all cool. You know?"

She had a blank expression on her face for a little while, but then a smirk slowly crept across her face. "You realize that I'm going to go back to being a cold-hearted, money-grubbing bitch. This moment of weakness will never happen again."

"Phft! Please, like I'd want you to be so damn needy and dependant on me all the time. I like you just the way you are."

"Heh. You're a glutton for punishment and suffering."

"Hah! Bring it on."

"All right." She stepped into his personal space and slipped her arms around his neck. "And thanks for saving me," she said and, before Ranma could react, she planted her lips on his for a second. You know," Nabiki started as Ranma's brain went offline. "This whole marriage thing gives me a whole new latitude of ways to torment you." She withdrew her arms and started to walk back home.

"No fair…" a stunned Ranma said weakly.

She grinned over her shoulder at him. "Who says I play fair?" Looking down at her hands, she called back to him. "Before I forget, dump this into the fire as well," Nabiki said, flicking her right towards him.

Ranma snapped out of his bewildered state and caught what Nabiki threw him. He started to toss it into the fire, then noticed what he was holding. "Hey, wait, are you—"

"Very sure. Have to get rid of the last bit of evidence of today's exploits, you know."

"I… guess so," he said, more to himself, as he dumped Nabiki's expensive-looking camera into the burning barrel. "So, ah, what are you gonna do with… that?"

"Watch it, what else? After all, it's my wedding night."

"What? You serious? I thought you didn't want any—"

"Things change. Besides, I have to take notes, too, so I can exploit all the new and interesting ways I can embarrass you and make you miserable."

"You're gonna do _what!_ Get back here with that tape!"

Nabiki smiled as she slipped the tape down her shirt. "Frisk me for it."

"Urk! Dammit, that's not fair!"

"All you have to do is reach down between my—"

"Argh! Damn you!"

"Oh, Ranma… You're so easy to tease…"

_TBC_


	5. Missing In Reaction

_**Ranma 1/2 and all related characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi. No disrespect intended for this simple fanfic.**_

For Better or For Worst-Case Scenario

Chapter 5: Missing in Reaction

"A lazy Sunday afternoon," Nabiki said aloud as she laid across her bed on her back. Dressed in cutoff jean shorts and a loose tee shirt, the sleeves rolled up, she lazily stretched and sat up. Her eyes focused in on Ranma, who was sitting in the corner on the opposite side of the room reading a thick comic book. "Don't you agree, honey?"

He seemed to not have heard her, but Nabiki knew he had – she long since learned to recognize that almost imperceptible tensing around his neck. It only occurred when an embarrassing topic threatens to rear its head and he wished to not have anything to do with it. She sometimes wondered if he was even aware of it. Nabiki didn't think so; otherwise, she felt Ranma would have learned to stop doing it. At least in her vicinity.

Nabiki supposed to herself she could take advantage of it and tease Ranma in some sort of way or fashion, but she decided against it; better to remain unpredictable, to make sure he didn't become numb to her wiles. Besides, it had been almost a week since the videotape incident, when she finally accepted her marital situation and started using it in a whole new way to keep boredom and the humdrum at bay. Plus it was a Sunday – no school, no pressing family engagements, and no visitors. Let Ranma have a break from her antics.

She flopped back onto her bed, faintly smiling. _I'm really salt of the earth here._

For his part, Ranma looked over his comic to eye his wife. _Funny, I thought she'd do something by now._ He let himself wind down after a few moments more of covertly watching his significant other's inaction, then tried resuming his reading pleasure. However, he shook his head and put down the volume – the story and action had been going downhill since halfway through the fourth volume, turning more melodramatic, inane, and sometimes downright silly. It was like a martial arts soap opera, or perhaps better worded as a marital arts soap opera, based on the actions of the younger sister. At one point, Ranma could have sympathized with the main character, as he, too, got an unwanted girl wanting to marry him, but now that he went and admitted feelings for the girl's older sister… He shook his head, promising himself to skim over the next volume before buying it.

He stood up, stretching his legs and back, feeling muscles loosen and creak. Popping his neck twice, he started to leave the room.

"Going out?" Nabiki asked, looking over in his direction.

"Yeah. Gonna take a walk."

"Anyplace special?"

"Hadn't thought about it."

She sat up. "Well, give me a minute to change."

He looked over his shoulder. "You wanna come with me?"

"Sure. It seems too nice a day to spend it indoors."

"Well… okay. I'll be downstairs." He slipped out of the room, leaving Nabiki to her own devices.

In truth, going through a few katas was forefront in his mind. However, the dojo had been locked up since Thursday afternoon, though why was beyond him.. When he asked Mr. Tendo about it, the curt answer was that it was under repair and would be off-limits until sometime after Tuesday. He brought it up with Nabiki later on, who vowed to do some investigating herself. She turned up nothing; every entrance point was locked, and the windows were covered with heavy cloth. Also, the key to the building was not in its usual place. Whether she did more investigating after that, Ranma did not know. He just decided to not worry about it and practice out in the backyard.

That turned to be more distracting than anything else. He normally didn't think about it, but the first time he looked over his shoulder to taunt his old man and remembered he didn't live at the Tendo residence anymore, the realization of why splashed him with the strength and numbness of icy water.

He and Nabiki were married.

Ever since then, whenever he'd step into the backyard to practice, his mind would suddenly cloud up with all the annoying, puzzling, difficult thoughts and questions, running and bouncing around in his head so rapidly, he sometimes misremembered the next step of the kata, though his body hadn't. The collision of two different trains of thoughts resulted in a few funny incidents. That inverted double-wheeled flying kick he accidentally done one time would have looked really cool had he not ended up splashing headfirst into the backyard pond with his legs flopping every which way.

"All right, I'm ready," Nabiki said behind him, shaking him out of his thoughts. Ranma glanced at her. She had slipped on a pair of faded jeans, sneakers, and a brown tee shirt with a printed message across the front. He perked an eyebrow as he read it.

"'Alien Abductee'?"

Nabiki shrugged. "It would explain a few things lately."

Ranma really couldn't disagree with her. "Okay, let's go."

They waltzed out through the front door and into the world.

* * *

Even after a week, being together, let alone married, still felt surreal. Occasionally, a neighbor they came across would congratulate the two on their wedding and wished them many happy years together. Even the old woman that would throw water on the sidewalk (and invariably Ranma) in the mornings smiled at them, giving them a comforting bow as they passed by.

"Just who is she, anyway?" Ranma asked, looking at the elderly lady.

Nabiki started to open her mouth to say her name, but a thought occurred to her – she didn't know it, either. "So, where are we going?"

He shrugged, his former inquiry forgotten. "Just around." His stomach took that moment to put in its two cents. "On the second thought, let's go grab something to eat."

"Sounds good to me." She wasn't particularly hungry, but she was curious as to where he would go for food, as two places he might have eaten would most assuredly be off limits to him. Did he even think about that? Knowing him, probably not.

He led the way down the street. Nabiki was content with just following him, thought she did make a point to stay abreast of him. She wasn't sure if Ranma ever thought about traditional women's roles, but she wouldn't take a chance on someone seeing her walking behind him like an obedient pet.

DING DING

Ranma tensed up, along with Nabiki, who drew close to him; if it was Shampoo coming to seek revenge, she stood no chance out in the open. They looked around quickly for a lavender-haired Amazon warrior/delivery girl. However, the only person they saw was Mousse, running down the street on a delivery bike… then nearly running into a telephone pole.

"Must be really busy at the Cat Café," Ranma said absently. "Sending Mousse out on a delivery…" He turned away, shrugging and continued on his way with Nabiki still in tow, though she had remained a little closer to her husband.

"Ranma."

"Mm? Whatsit?"

"…It's nothing."

"…Okay."

They traveled for several minutes, neither one speaking. Or at least not aloud in Nabiki's case. Her mind started to whirl as she tried to put together a puzzle that started to bug her. Of the four girls to have claims to Ranma, three of them have already did something: Akane threw out the door any hopes of her and Ranma reuniting with her formal acceptance and virtual surrender; Ukyo decked Ranma in the nurse's office (and caused sizeable damage to the bed, the way she heard it); Kodachi tried to blackmail Nabiki into divorce so she could have Ranma all to herself, which ended up with quite a bit of property damage at the Kuno Estate, along with a dearth of destroyed doctored copies and one recovered master tape. Also, thanks to the Kunos, she had all the reason in the world to stay with her now-husband. Amazing how almost being devoured whole by someone's pet crocodile will rearrange one's priorities in life.

However, the one she would have expected to deliver an immediate (and most likely very violent) response – the Amazon warrior Shampoo – was AWOL. The total lack of response had her more worried than becoming a reptile's snack. Was it some kind of psychological game? Nabiki could hardly believe the Amazon would simply give up and go home, but then again, mind games were not a normal part of her repertoire, either. The only thing she could think of was that it was part of some weird tribal custom or something, but what? Pieces were missing, and she needed them to get a clear picture.

"Huh, Ucchan's closed."

Nabiki looked up, her thoughts shattered by the simple phrase. Her eyes lighted upon the okonomiyaki diner, and her brows knitted in mild surprise. She had no idea they had wandered around this far. However, what on earth were they doing here anyway?

"Planned on eating here or something?" She perked one brow incredulously at her husband.

"No… though now that you mention it, I haven't had okonomiyaki in a while." Ranma rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then glanced at Nabiki, who still wore her disbelieving face. "…What?"

She stared at him for a few seconds longer, pursing her lips together. "Some things will never change," she said, more to herself.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Haven't been married for more than a few weeks, and already, you're trying to sneak back to see old flames."

Ranma sputtered in shock, unable to get words to come out of his mouth.

Nabiki turned her face away from him, covering up with her hands as she did so. "You're so cruel, beloved… Don't I mean anything to you? And after I gave myself to you…"

For about ten seconds, Ranma's brain hung itself, any possible responses frozen with the system lockup. However, once his thinker rebooted and everything went back into motion, he mentally slapped himself for falling into yet another one of Nabiki's mind games. "Dammit, Nabiki! Stop that!"

She smirked at him from under her hands. "You're getting faster," she said under her breath. Abruptly, Nabiki turned around and drew in close to him, her face turning serious. "Just admit it, Ranma. You were going to go see Ukyo."

"I was not! There just happens to be a beef bowl vendor on the other side of this street."

"Uh huh…"

He folded his arms, cocking his head to one side. "Really. And why would you be so concerned about me seeing Ucchan, anyway?"

For a moment, she considered whapping him upside his head. However, as dense as he was, she'd probably break her hand. "Because you would end up having her chase after you. Again."

"What?" Ranma scrunched up his face, as if he smelled something had gone bad, but didn't know where it was coming from. "How do you figure that?"

"Knowing you, you'd go talk to her, do something charming to or for her, and leave her thinking maybe she still has a shot at you."

His left eye twitched. "Gods, what do you take me for? I'm married to you!"

She looked him in the eye. "You also like using people."

He jerked back as if he took a blow on the chin. "'Using people'? I'm nothing like y—" Ranma's own hand snapped shut on his mouth so fast, it startled him.

Nabiki glanced down at the ground briefly, then shifted her head up to hold his attention with her eyes. "I know what I am, and I admit to it honestly." She reached up and slowly peeled his hand away from over his mouth. "Be honest with yourself, too, Ranma."

They stood there, rooted in place by their silent struggle, her hand holding his still. Neither one spoke, but their eyes communicated in volumes. Finally, Ranma pulled his hand out of hers, tossing it up in exasperation. "Fine, don't believe me. Let's just go home." He turned on his heels and started to walk back the way they came.

"I thought you were hungry."

He didn't look back. "I'll live."

Clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth, Nabiki shrugged and followed suit, pulling up beside Ranma so she could keep tabs on his mood from the corner of her eye. She soon realized that was a waste of time, as his face was the most unusual level of neutrality she ever seen on the young Saotome. Idly, she wondered what was going on through his head, then decided to focus on other things; the afternoon was already spoiled, and there seemed to be no clues willing to jump out of the bushes and shout "Here! Here!" on Shampoo's current whereabouts and state of mind. So she turned to the only other mystery that's been gnawing at her toes recently: what was so special in the dojo that it's remained locked all weekend?

She would have to investigate later. Right now, she was starting to feel a little hungry. She hoped Kasumi had some kind of snack prepared; she hated having to make something herself.

* * *

She still had no luck gaining admittance into the dojo. Questioning her father about it led her nowhere; he deflecting her inquiries with answers that sounded rehearsed. Akane had no clue, either, as she flatly said she didn't know and was a little frustrated she couldn't go practice inside till almost the middle of the week. Asking Kasumi about it turned out to be more bizarre than she would have ever fathomed.

"Hey, Kasumi," Nabiki asked as she came out of the kitchen crunching on a squat Asian pear.

"Yes, Nabiki?" she inquired as she was sitting in the living room watching something on television. It turned out to be a baseball game, the Tokyo Giants playing against some other team. Who they were, Nabiki neither knew nor cared; she was not a sports fan. She only knew about the Giants because Kasumi, surprisingly, turned out to be a big fan of theirs – that and the fact they were quite a losing bunch. Her older sister loved them anyway… probably because she had a crush on one of the players. It was the only thing Nabiki could think of that made sense.

"Ranma's been a bit grouchy lately."

Kasumi hadn't turned from the screen to reply. "Whatever could be bothering him?"

Nabiki glanced at television herself to see what had her older sister so riveted. Bottom of the ninth, Giants at bat. Score was 4-2 in favor of the other team. Two men on first and second, one out. The batter at the plate just earned his second strike with no outs against them. "I don't know. I suggested he go to the dojo and work it out. Says he can't. It's been locked up or something."

The Giants suddenly got a lucky break. The pitcher threw the ball, but it didn't break right. Smashed right into the batter's left thigh. Bases were now loaded, a pinch runner going in for the injured player, and the Japanese version of Casey Jones stepped up to the plate, ready to bring it all home.

Kasumi smiled. "That's because Father's holding some things inside."

"Really…? Such as—"

The pitcher shook off two signs from the catcher, then nodded in affirmation on the third. He reared back and let the ball fly like an arrow, going just inside on the batter. "Ball," the umpire called, and the pitcher cursed his luck.

"Well…" She hesitated, but then continued. "Don't tell anyone else about this, but—"

The leather bullet streaked across the plate, burrowing deep inside the catcher's glove. Strike. Kasumi frowned. "Hold on a moment, Nabiki."

Nabiki frowned as well. It would be easier to turn off the TV set and have her older sister's undivided attention, but she may have her own rehearsed lines like her father. As long at the Giants were doing well, though, she was far more candid and likely to give all the answers she wanted to know. Realizing that, Nabiki turned her attention to the game.

Two more balls called, then a foul ball that, had it managed to remain on the other side of the foul line marker, would have been a grandslam homerun and the Giants would have won. Nabiki spared a glance at Kasumi while the other team had a conference on the plate concerning the pitcher, catcher, and the team manager. She was sitting there, her hands clasped together tightly, her eyes hard locked onto the screen, as though she was exerting her will on the outcome of the game.

Nabiki hadn't felt this disturbed around her sister since she found out about the bets Kasumi made on her wedding.

The shortshop had been brought into the fold on the mound for a few seconds more, something the announcer thought was strange, and made an offhand remark about bringing in the rest of the infield for the summit. The meeting ended, everyone drifting back into their prescribed places. On the mound, the pitcher didn't even look at the Japanese Casey Jones or the catcher. Instead he slowly wound up with his eyes closed, snapping them open just before he delivered his last offering to the batter, a screwball. The batter reflected it hard off his bat, a powerful linedrive screaming to right field – that was intercepted in mid-flight by the shortstop, who sprang up into the air like he had a pair of wings to snag the miniature missile. In one fluid motion, the shortstop came down and tagged out the second base runner on the shoulder before he even realized he needed to get back to the base, let the ball catapult out of the glove and into the air again just as he landed only to bounce back up like he was made of rubber, snare the floating sphere again and sling it down to first base, where the other runner understood the situation a second too late and dove back to safety. But by then, the ball was firmly embedded inside the first baseman's glove.

Triple play.

"Excuse me…" Kasumi sounded as though someone had just canceled Christmas as she got up, exiting the living room. "I have to cook... something."

Nabiki was stunned, too, particularly once she found out the name of the shortstop that single-handedly killed the Giants' and her hopes: Number 36, Souma Saotome. She made it a high point to find Ranma or his parents and ask about their relatives. Chances were, they were going to be one short at the next family reunion if she had anything to say and do about it.

In the meanwhile, she cut off the TV, having gained virtually nothing of use from in the last few minutes. They're using the dojo for storage… for what though? Was it too large to take up to Ranma's old room? And just what were they storing there, come to think about it?

With that thought in mind, Nabiki got up and made her way upstairs to investigate. However, something new arrested her progress: there was a lock on the door. Or to be more precise, the sliding door had been replaced with a door and a knob. One that now required a key to get into.

* * *

"There's now a door and a lock on your old room," Nabiki said, sitting on her bed in her sleepwear, one leg crossed over the other.

Ranma, still wearing his pants and undershirt, was reading another one of his comic books. "Yeah. So?"

"'So?' Don't you think it's strange that the slide door is now just a regular door with a knob?"

"Nope," he said, still not looking up. "Just butt out of it."

She arched an eyebrow at him in confusion. "'Butt out'?"

"What, you're a parrot, as well as a snoop, too?"

Nabiki was a little cross at that. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Means you can't keep your nose out of other people's business." This time he put the volume down and looked at her flatly. "Thought you would have learned after that whole videotape business."

The comment stung her more than she would admit. "Hey, I care about what's going on, and I don't want someone getting hurt over something that could have been prevented."

"Bullshit. You just want to know stuff so you can hold it over people's head. You like feeling superior over everyone else, rub their faces in it."

She jerked back in shock, not at the accusation itself – though she wouldn't have confessed to its validity anyway – but at the fact that it was Ranma making them of his own will. Who was the person sitting across from her, and what had it done with the real Ranma? She found it hard to believe that he could even think, let alone argue, this way. Of course, he only was reacting to whatever she said, but still, he was showing a whole different side of himself, something that she found very intriguing, attractive.

However, she was not about to let him win this verbal battle anytime soon. "I'm not like you, Ranma baby. I don't go around gloating about how I do this or that to someone I topple."

Now it was Ranma's turn to give her the incredulous look. "_Excuse_ me? Who was so sure about me going to Ucchan's, then got so damn smug when I dropped the matter, like it was true and I didn't want to admit it? Wasn't me, that's for sure."

Nabiki glared hard at Ranma, trying to decide whether or not she was pissed that he wasn't backing down as he did in the past. It was like he was a whole different person now. Was it because they were married that he grew stones? Was he just angry with everything that had happened and was just blowing off steam? More importantly, why did she find herself liking this new Ranma?

He continued on, oblivious to her penetrating look. "You can't keep you nose out of other people's business because you like knowing everything, and you can't wait to rub it in someone's face later when something goes wrong. 'Haha! You screwed up!' Not today, Nabiki. Not today. I don't give a shit what's going on with my old room, and you're not gonna give a shit, either. End. Of. Story."

A thousand arguments, persuasions, and coercions came to mind. Nabiki had plenty of ammo to spit back. However, the hand that should have pulled the trigger became relaxed by a warm tingling feeling flooding throughout her body. Her heartbeat came in faster, electricity danced all over and under her skin, heightening her sensitivity, and her body felt a lot hotter. The room seemed smaller, she and Ranma so much nearer. Her eyes widened a little as she absently licked her suddenly-dry lips.

"Oh my god…" she murmured. "I'm…" She bit her lip, forcing herself to not finish the sentence. "No… no… this isn't…" she said to herself, her voice dropping lower and lower till she could barely hear herself.

Ranma had been watching her for about half a minute, his eyebrows furrowing together as she suddenly became extremely self-conscious and fidgety. Her face and body were flushed a pinkish hue. She refused to even look in his direction anymore.

"Well, I'm be damned," he said at last. "Never thought I'd see the day you were unable to talk back."

"Ranma, shut up…" Nabiki muttered. "Dealing with something…"

"Yeah." He folded his hands behind his head and leaned back, looking smug. "I know you are…"

She turned a quick glare in his direction. "You're not helping here…"

He cracked a confident smirk in her direction, her glare of silence about as effective as building a snowman without snow. "'Be honest with yourself,' eh, Nabiki? You know everything, so don't hold back the truth."

"Oh, you can't handle the truth…"

"Heh, more like you can't. The moment someone sees through you, you're suddenly all scared and embarrassed."

Her eyes turned towards him dangerously, hunger welling up in them. "Is that what you think it is?"

His eyes were half-lidded in their superior confidence. "I know so."

She exhaled sharply though her nose and she gripped the edge of her bed tightly. "Well let me tell you something, then." Quickly, she pushed herself off into his direction, practically pouncing him in the exchange. He jerked back from the surprise approach, his head smacking against the wall as Nabiki brought her face in close to his, their noses inches apart.

"The absolute, honest truth is, right now, I have a burning urge to rip your clothes off and fuck you like an animal. I want to feel you inside of me and all over me, doing so many little naughty things to me, you'd make me scream like a wild woman. Our bodies entangled fast and hard, pushing away and refusing to let each other go, passion and lust raging out of control…" She sucked in a short breath through her teeth, fighting to dispel her sudden carnal thoughts. "…but no, that's not going to happen. Not here, not now, not ever. Being married, okay, I have to admit it was a shock to the system, but after it wore off, I can deal with it perfectly well. However, we are not going to be sleeping in the same bed. We are not going to have terrible and wonderful bouts of torrid, unbridled lovemaking, no dirty, kinky, tie-me-to-the-bed-and-spank-me-daddy sex, and definitely none of that out-and-out raw animalistic fuck-me-so-hard-I-can't-walk-straight-in-the-morning. We are married, but nothing else beyond that. And if you don't stop turning me on, you're going to make me do some or all of those things I just mentioned, and I'll make damn sure you'll regret every last bit of it in the morning. Got it?"

Nabiki tore her eyes away from his once the last syllable fell from her lips, taking in deep breaths through her mouth. If she kept looking into them, she was almost positive she would have tossed everything to the four winds and acted on her desires. The air on her skin burned, and she tried her hardest to not think about anything along those lines. She needed to move back to her bed, give herself space, but that felt like inviting disaster; however, so was remaining so close to the source of her unexpected temptation. She never experienced such a cocktail of hormones quite like this, and she wondered if it was really a bad thing. Daringly, she stole a glance in his direction, seeing if he was suffering anything like her.

Surprisingly, he wasn't suffering. In fact, it seemed like Ranma wasn't feeling anything; both his face and eyes were totally blank, staring off where Nabiki's head had been moments ago. The only sign of life coming from him was his lips, which slowly moved up and down in tiny bobbles.

Nabiki grabbed his head and kissed him hard, cursing herself only after breaking the intimate connection. "Get out," she said breathlessly, releasing him. "Go sleep on the roof or something for the next few days. Hurry up before I act on… something naughty."

Ranma could only nod numbly at his wife. Painstakingly – Nabiki noted that she did have _some_ kind of effect on him – he slid up the wall, then staggered towards the door. His hand fumbled for the knob a couple of times before catching it fast, then he disappeared with its opening and closing.

Nabiki watched him go without incident. Once he was gone, Nabiki heaved a heavy sigh and moved back to her bed. "Gods… I don't know if I can deal with that again…" She peeled back her covers and tried her best to lay down and not think about that hungry, damp feeling she knew would not go away as easily.

* * *

Kasumi had awakened early, as usual. A quick bath and a change of clothes later, she was making her way to the kitchen, when an unusual sight greeted her. Her brows furrowed in concern. "Little brother…?"

A shirtless Ranma was sitting on the floor of the kitchen, his body slumped over. He smelled of cool, stale exertion, as if he had been working out earlier. A small line of drool had crept from the corner of his mouth and down his chin. In one hand, a half-eaten piece of fruit threatened to escape his nonexistent grasp.

Carefully approaching, Kasumi knelt down and lightly touched his hand. "Lit—"

Before she could finish the word, Ranma's eyes flew open. "No!" he shouted, his hand cresting upwards quick as a flash.

CRACK

The sound seems to reverberate through the kitchen like thunder, shaking Ranma out of his dream state. He gaped in horror as the entire world went into slow motion. Like a rubber doll, Kasumi's upper half had stretched for the wall, but her lower half had not complied at first and tried to hold its ground. After realizing its folly, her legs chose to surrender quickly, and they shot out from under her in the opposite direction her head was taking. Fresh blood trailed from the corner of her mouth as gravity quickly reasserted its grasp upon the young woman. With a thud, Kasumi crashed into the floor, her arms flailing briefly before settling into a haphazard tangle.

He was so stunned, his body refusing to function at all. His eyes soaked up the image of her sister-in-law laying there, still as death. Somehow, one hand found strength to float through the air, reaching out to touch her. Fear stayed his hand, though, as if afraid to shatter a dream and discover the nightmare was real. "Ka… Ka… Kasumi?"

She stirred at mention of her name, moaning as she painstakingly drew herself up into a sitting position. Her left hand gingerly cradled her right arm as she slowly made its fingers flex open and closed. The impact point on her jaw was already shifting colors.

Ranma almost lost bladder control on the spot. Instantly he prostrated himself before her. "I'm so sorry, Kasumi! I didn't know it was you and—"

"It's all right Ranma," she said calmly, partly smiling, partly wincing in the furious pain in her jaw and right shoulder, which took the brunt of her fall. "I was the one that was careless. You could say it was just… karma."

No matter how much she reassured him, though, Ranma still felt miserable and guilty. Hearing the explanation Kasumi concocted for everyone else – a minor accident in the bath earlier – served only to intensify it. He didn't look in anyone's direction that morning. In fact, he didn't even eat anything at the breakfast table. He sat there for a few minutes, his food and chopsticks remaining untouched, then quickly excused himself, going out the front door and heading to school.

It took around five minutes for Nabiki to catch up with him, practically running the whole way. "What possessed you to hit Kasumi, of all people?"

Ranma visibly tensed up. "Wh, what're you talking about? She already told you-"

"Yeah, yeah. However, you've been practically blurting out your guilt all morning."

He glared at her. "Stop poking your nose where it's not wanted."

Nabiki looked back defiantly. "She's my sister. I have a right to know."

He turned away, not slowing down his pace. "Then go ask her."

"She's covering for you. What happened?"

He refused to answer at first, then quickly relented, stopping in place. "Look," he said, turning to face Nabiki again. "It was an accident. I had a dream, and she just tried to wake me at the wrong time. That's it."

She perked both eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yeah. End of story." He turned on his heels and began walking again.

Twisted though it seemed, Nabiki actually smiled at the idea of her meddlesome sister getting her comeuppance. Serves her right for her invasive actions at Nabiki's wedding. Then she frowned, remembering last night. If someone like Kasumi got hit with karmic payback – no pun intended, she amended to herself – what kind of retribution could Nabiki expect? Was she already in the midst of the cashing in that paycheck?

She bit her lower lip slightly, mulling her thoughts around on the concept of karma. Frowning internally at the answers given to her, she stepped with the quickness of a rabbit. Within seconds, she was abreast of her husband. "Um, Ranma?"

He grunted his acknowledgement.

"…I'm sorry."

Ranma didn't register her words for a moment. Once they were entered into his brain, however, he stopped in midstep, looking at his wife. "You're… apologizing?"

She held his eyes for a second, then looked off to one side. "Yeah."

He had to cock an eyebrow. "For what?"

She sucked on her lower lip now, then made the words come out. "For being nosy."

"Oh… um, okay." He couldn't think of anything else to say.

They walked together in silence for a short bout.

"You know, about yesterday afternoon…" Ranma began, folding his arms.

She looked over at him. "What about it?"

"…Thanks."

"'Thanks'? For what?"

"For saying what you said… about Ucchan. I didn't really think about all that stuff."

Nabiki looked at Ranma sideways for a moment. "Believe it or not, I do care about things other than myself. Maybe I don't show it often enough, but it doesn't make it any less true."

"Yeah, I was thinking about all of that last night, after I left. I know us getting married ain't no picnic, and not something we would've chose to do if we could repeat the last two weeks, but—"

Nabiki cut him off in midsentence. "Hey, Ranma?"

"Huh? What?"

"Let's go see your friend, Ukyo. After school."

He looked at her queerly. "Why'd you want to do that?"

"I want to clear the air between us and your ex-fiancées. Make sure they know that our marriage isn't a trick of some sort, and that you are off the market. No confusion. No nonsense. Just upfront honesty."

"Huh…" Ranma slowly nodded his head. "All right, I guess. Your plan, though."

"No problem. I'll have some strategy prepared for you by lunch. Which reminds me…" She handed him his packaged lunch.

Ranma took the proffered bag without complaint. "Well, see you at lunch."

"Later, Ranma."

The married couple reached school momentarily and branched off to their respective classes.

* * *

_How did one deal with a broken heart?_ Akane thought to herself, as she gazed out the classroom window. The substitute homeroom teacher hadn't arrived to class yet; the regular one, Mr. Tawakichi, was out. She didn't know what the real story was, but rumor had it that he split up with his wife of seventeen years to get married to a seventeen-year-old former student of his whom he had been having an affair with last year. Not that she believed such creepy, outlandish rumors – this was Japan, not America, after all – but the thought of it gave her something to think about. Assuming everything was, in fact, true, how would Mrs. Tawakichi deal with the sudden breakup? Was she deeply in love with her husband? Were they merely brought together through an arranged marriage? Would she have faulted the girl, or would she be able to find the strength and compassion to forgive him and not hold it against him? Maybe she would get rip roaringly drunk, find a gun, and shoot him and his young sweet-tart lover while they were in the middle of—

Akane shook her head on the last thought. Again, this was Japan – no one gets shot here. A different story in America – as much as she would like to visit the States some day, she really didn't want to get shot abroad doing so. It was a wonder the country even had overcrowding issues; she would have assumed there would be plenty of open spaces – though the hospitals and morgues would be overflowing.

The substitute homeroom teacher arrived just before she could start asking herself the real questions she wanted to know answers for, but too afraid to follow through. As her mind turned towards the humdrum of school work, she noticed that an unfamiliar young man padded into the classroom shortly. The substitute conferred with the student outside the classroom briefly, then reentered, the student in tow.

A quick introduction – the new student was actually present in the first part of the school year, but had been hospitalized for several months. Some of Akane's peers seemed to have recalled him, though she didn't know him from Adam. She wondered if he had given pursuit back when Kuno was making every man prove their worth to her through daily morning fights.

The substitute teacher then directed the old classmate to an empty desk in the back, a row over from Akane. At this point, something was niggling the back of her mind, but she couldn't figure out why. She glanced back to the seat as the young man had walked towards it, and she felt something about it was just… wrong. Like there should be someone else there. However, she couldn't think of anyone not present today: Ranma was here, looking bored as usual, as well as Shigeki, Chiyo, Ukyo, Urumi—

_Wait a second!_

Quickly, Akane raised her hand. The substitute peered in her direction and made a quick glance at the seating chart before addressing her. "Yes, Ms. Tendo?"

She stood up in place. "Excuse me, teacher, but isn't that Ukyo's seat you assigned the new student?"

The substitute teacher frowned a little, then re-read the seating chart. "Hmm. Yes, it was a few days ago. However, Ms. Kuonji has resigned from Furinken High School Friday, so it may be given to another student."

_Resigned?_ Akane mouthed the word in surprise. _Why would she leave Furinken?_ Unconsciously, her eyes shifted over to Ranma. He was sitting rigidly alert now, his brows pinched together. _Because of Ranma?

* * *

_

Lunchtime rolled around midday. Some students made their way to the cafeteria to purchase a meal and snack, while others who brought homemade food elected to eat inside their class room, or head outside and enjoy Mother Nature's company. Nabiki normally fell underneath the category of the latter; today was no different, as she made her way down the stairs to meet Ranma. Two of her friends flanked her, talking amiably among each other, and directing various questions to Nabiki. The subject of late: Nabiki's marriage.

"It's just sooo romantic, the way you two just got married like that!" the one girl with long dark hair commented half-dreamily.

"Kind of underhanded, though, even for Nabiki," the other girl with the sun-kissed skin and nearly-blonde hair trimmed short akin to Akane's hairstyle said matter-of-factly.

"Aww, Mariko, you're just jealous Jiro isn't sweeping you off your feet like that."

Mariko rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Junko. Like I was ever attracted to him. Besides, I'm friends with his girlfriend."

"Akane is Nabiki's sister, and that didn't stop her from finding true love with Ranma, now, did it?" Junko said, more to the subject in question.

Nabiki had to suppress the urge to sigh. While it was a joy to have female friends that did not, in fact, conform to societal norms of Japanese culture, she sometimes wished they would at least not be so willing to discuss more discreet issues out in the open. Especially with sore spots, such as Junko's last comment. "Now, now… that was not my fault. I've been conspired against by the gods, and for now, I'm just staying with things as is. Nothing's changed."

The girls nodded, and they took several more steps.

"Bet they do it three times a night," Junko whispered to Mariko.

However, Nabiki managed to overhear the remark. She colored significantly in response. "Junko…" she said with an edge of promised death in her voice.

"Speaking of lovers, there's yours Nabiki," Mariko quickly said, pointing at Ranma, who was pacing under the location of their meeting place.

"Oooh! Bet he's been dying to see you all—"

Junko and Mariko both blinked as a sudden blast of wind whipped their uniform skirts around.

"What was that?" Mariko said, looking around.

"More importantly, where's Nabiki?" Junko chimed in.

"What?"

"She's… gone! And so is Ranma!"

"Where did they go?"

The two scanned the area in confusion, then stood there silent.

"…Bet they ran off to have a quickie on the roof."

"…Junko, you really need to get yourself a boyfriend…"

* * *

"Dammit, Ranma!" Nabiki shrieked as she clung tightly to her husband's neck as he went sailing though the air, carrying her in his arms. "What the hell's your probl—" She shrieked again as he vaulted over Furinken's outer wall and bolted down the sidewalk.

He gave a quick explanation about Ukyo as he took the shortest route from school to Ucchan's Okonomiyaki Restaurant – a straight line. He hopped, ducked, dodged, slid, and swung from trees, walls, fences, people, pet, houses, and cars without breaking stride.

"Gods, couldn't you have waited till after school!"

"No, I can't!" He somersaulted over a small pond at the last second, his feet finding purchase on the nearby house's roof. "This gotta be done n—"

The roof suddenly caved in under the shock of Ranma and Nabiki's combined weight. In hindsight, it was probably already weakened from where the home owner did not see fit to guard it from the elements, and as a result, the structure beneath had rotted away. However, that did not stop the pair from falling through and crashing into the home owner's bedroom in a tangled heap.

Ranma moaned in pain before he spoke. "You okay, Nabiki?"

"Yeah… I'm fine," she said, slowly uncurling from the fetal position Ranma had tucked her into to prevent her from getting injured. "Don't think that'll make up for this dumb idea of a field trip."

"Yeah, yeah…" He couldn't help but smile at her admonishment.

She tried to be cool, though she felt just the opposite. "We're taking the long route back to school, so you know in advance."

Once the couple composed themselves, they left through the front door and trekked the rest of the way to Ukyo's restaurant on the ground.

Once they were near their destination, Nabiki pulled Ranma to the side. "You wait here."

"Huh? Why do I—"

"Trust me on this. Just wait here. I'm going to go talk to her first."

"What? But—"

She pressed her fingers to his lips. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

He looked at her, searched her eyes. Slowly he nodded in agreement, and she let her fingers slide away from his lips. On impulse, he caught the tip of one between his lips for a second, then let it go. They both blushed at the action.

"Um… hurry up. Don't wanna be late for your next class."

"Y, yeah…" She turned away and padded over to the shop.

_What brought that on? _they wondered as one.

As expected, the restaurant was still closed from Sunday. Nabiki peered through one of the windows. The dining area played host to several cardboard boxes, many of them filled with packing straw and objects. The walls were bared of advertisements and prices. There was no sign of anyone in the store, though. Withdrawing from her viewpoint, she moved towards the store doors and knocked.

A few minutes later, Nabiki returned to Ranma. "Nobody's home," she said simply. "Let's try again after school."

Sighing, he agreed, and they returned to school. However, the situation was the same as before, only the boxes that were their previously were now gone. A white moving truck stood on display across the street. "It's like she didn't want anyone to know she was leaving," Ranma commented glumly as they followed the course home.

"Or maybe she's avoiding you."

"Maybe…" He was silent for a few moments. "I've been a shitty friend," he said, more to himself.

Nabiki perked an eyebrow in surprise, but didn't say anything.

Soon, they arrived home. "We're home."

Akane had greeted them, then turned to Ranma. "You have some visitors."

He furrowed his brows. "I do?"

"Yes, both of them are on the porch."

Curious, he went to see who had came around to see him. Mom and dad maybe? As he neared, he could hear snatches of conversation.

"So it's agreed."

"…yes, it's agreed."

"…and remember, no backing out…"

"Understood."

Ranma opened to door. The two people looked at him as one.

"Hello, boy."

"Hey, Ranchan."

He looked from his dirty, disheveled-looking father to a somewhat disheveled, stern-but-beaming Ukyo. "Hey to you, too. What's going on?"

"Nothing important," Genma said tersely, getting up. "Now if you excuse me…" He pushed past Ranma and disappeared around the corner.

"You beat him up again?" he asked, looking at Ukyo.

"No. I just happened upon him that way. Though I would have used aggressive negotiations if need be."

"Okay…" He sat down on the porch.

"I bet you already heard. I dropped out of Furinken High School."

"Yeah. Found out this morning."

"I talked to my dad last week and told him about everything that's happened here. He felt that I should come back home."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I was going to, too."

He looked at her a little strangely.

"I had some time to think about things, and maybe I was being too hard on you. It was quite a shock, finding out that you had married Nabiki, of all people! Akane, I guess I could understand, but Nabiki? What were you thinking? Then, I kinda sat back and thought, well, maybe you got tricked into it or something – much as I hate to admit it, you are kinda gullible."

"Hey!"

"I was all set to come save you from a life of unhappiness." She gave him a small grin. "But then, I talked to Akane, and I don't think she realized it, but she said some things that put everything in perspective."

"Really? Like what?"

She looked away, touching her index fingers together. "Mmm… Girl stuff. You wouldn't understand."

"Since I left China, I spend half my time as a girl. I think I would."

She colored slightly. "It, it's not important…! You're getting me off track! Shut up and let me finish, Jackass!"

"Fine, finish then! Damn!"

"Look, the important thing is that you're a married guy, now. That's something I have to respect. If things were reversed and we were married…" She paused and looked at him quietly. "I would want other people to respect our situation. There's no shame in that, so it'd be stupid to try and run away from the fact. Besides, as we all know, running away doesn't make the problem go away."

"Huh…" Ranma closed his eyes in thought. "Yeah, that's true. Thanks to pop, everything got so complicated."

"Don't worry about him. I already squared things away with your father."

He opened his eyes and looked at his friend. "How so?"

"He'll be repaying for the cart he stole all those years ago in free advertisement and labor for the next year."

"You're gonna have pop work for you?"

"Mm hmm. As a panda bear. With our combined cuteness factors, Ucchan's will become the biggest hit in the entire Nerima Ward. That the real reason I dropped out of Furinken. To focus on the business."

His eyebrows arched in surprise. "Really?"

"Mm hmm. I'll be staying around until I branch off another chain and get someone to mange Ucchan's here." She looked at him slyly. "Maybe you and Nabiki would be interested…?"

Ranma laughed. "Me? Running a business? Nah… Might be up Nabiki's alley, though. Put it to her sometime; she'd probably jump on it."

"I'll do that."

There was a knock coming from the inside. Ranma turned in its direction. "Yeah?"

Nabiki opened the shutters. "Hey, your dad wants to see you." There were traces of annoyance in her face, though she kept her features neutral as she went on. "In the dojo."

"What? The dojo's open now? Thought it wouldn't be open for another few days."

"Hey, go ahead and see your father," Ukyo said. "I'll talk to Nabiki about that proposition, then let myself out."

"You sure?"

"Positive. You can visit me anytime at the restaurant."

"Okay. Cool. Well, see you later, Ucchan!"

"Bye, Ranchan!"

He disappeared into the house, a smile gracing his lips. "Wow, worked out better than I thought!" he whispered excitedly to Nabiki as he passed by.

"Glad for you," she smiled back. She watched him disappear into the next room, then redirected her attention to Ranma's ex-fiancée. Her back was to Nabiki, staring out across the yard.

"Nabiki…" she said without turning around.

"The business idea sounds interesting, though I'm not one for cooking. Let's see what'll happen in the next few years first before anything else."

"Understood."

"Anything else you wish to talk about?"

Ukyo didn't reply. Nabiki gave her a minute, then started to close the door.

"Nabiki."

She paused. "Yes?"

"Be good to him."

Nabiki noted the slight trembling in Ranma's friend's shoulders. "I will. Take as much time as you need. No one will disturb you."

"…Thank you."

Nabiki closed the shutter firmly and made good her word, standing guard for the whole of 15 minutes. The silence from the other side of the shutter answered that Ukyo Kuonji had left the premises.

* * *

"Sleeping in the dojo tonight?" Nabiki asked as Ranma rolled up his bed mat.

"Yeah," he responded, scooping that and his backpack up. "Pop thinks I'm being stupid, but hey, I haven't been able to spar with anyone without worry about something for a week. And it's not like he can tell me what to do now; I bet mom's keeping him pretty busy back home."

_In more ways that one, I bet._ Nabiki shook her head, trying to dispel the mood her thoughts were already venturing into. "Don't injure anything."

"Hah. I could go all night," he replied, hoisting his sack onto his shoulder.

Nabiki tried hard to keep that line in context with his activity. The dojo finally freed up – the mystery behind its lock-up will go unsolved now – Ranma was bursting to do what he loves most – martial arts without inhibition. It was fortunate that he had an outlet for his pent up desires that he had demonstrated at least once already. Nabiki, on the other hand, didn't have an effective one. The half-sketched drawings and half-baked stories she had done in those times fitted nicely in a shoebox under her bed, though by all rights she should set the lot of them on fire and pretend they never existed. However the means, their separate activities kept them from being alone together for too long, which would result in some sort of passionate, tragic coupling, and she did not want to deal with that.

"Anyway, see you in the morning, Nabiki. Night."

"Night."

Once he left, Nabiki flopped onto her bed. Half of her was glad he wasn't presenting her with temptation; the other half was upset that he didn't even try to stay in the room. She sighed deeply.

"How long can this keep going on?" she spoke aloud. No one answered her back, which wasn't a shock. She tried to recall anything that would give her an answer. Nothing came within her grasp, though. That was a disappointment. Shaking off the mental threads, Nabiki undressed, put on her sleepwear, and turned in for the night. Perhaps all she needed was to sleep on it, and the answer will present itself like a present.

As she slept, she dreamed. It felt familiar, like the ones of the black wolves with the sparkling eyes forcing her to continue marching ahead to some unknown destination. She looked behind her, seeing those same wolves with red, blue, green, and white eyes staring at her. Turning around, she found a window before her, one that gave her a splendid view of a tall mountain, like the ones reported in National Geographic magazines. She couldn't help but let her eyes linger on the majestic peak striding upwards as if to scratch the very heavens. A smile danced across her face.

However, the blue skies started to shift into a deep darkness, and fear stole away the happiness she felt in the beginning. Somehow, she made out movement on the mountain, an object that loped down its side at an alarming speed. Nabiki took one, two, three steps back at a time, but the object getting bigger and bigger seemed to have made her its destination. Soon, she could make out another wolf, fur the same color as a starless midnight sky, its amethyst eyes flashing in the darkness. Her knees gave out, and she sunk to the floor as the wolf raced towards her, its desire apparent.

It was going to devour her.

Her body ignored all stimuli, remained limp in the face of all verbal prodding and her own willpower, and did not acknowledge the desperation of survival instincts coursing through her body. She felt rooted in place, a mollified meal of terror for her predatory companion. In seconds, the wolf was upon her. It slammed into her headfirst, knocking her onto her back in supine form. Then it padded confidently, murderous intention wafting through the air as it rested its paws on her thighs, staring down at her.

Nabiki risked looking at her captor once, then found herself unable to tear away for its own eyes. The wolf's violet eyes swirled with red, spiraling around and around in a bizarre hypnotic fashion, like looking down into a hurricane. It raised its head and howled in cold, calm fury and Nabiki's blood matched its emotion temperature. Then it dropped its head, serrated fangs sinking into and tearing out her entrails with vicious abandon.

Nabiki's eyes flew open, but her body felt like lead. Her heart pounded in her breast, pulse racing like a demented dervish. She was acutely aware of every sensation that touched her body. She could feel the coolness of the air draping over her face, the sweat even cooler on her forehead. The bed sheets, which were usually soft and cottony-feeling scratched at the back of her thighs and caused a minor irritation in the center of her back. She knew of every little detail about how her mattress was in desperate need of turning as she was of late habited to sit on the edge and the light sheets and the need to trade them in for some slightly thicker ones, or at least add on a summer comforter.

She could even tell without looking the sharpness of the two swords crossed over her head, with a brightly colored bonbori serving as a third leg of a mock armament tent. She knew that the blades were slowly sinking under the weight of the beachball-sized weapon, balanced precariously atop the crossing of the hilts. She also knew that the blades were secure against either side of her neck, the razor-honed edges just brushing her skin. She knew that the slightest movement, even to take a breath so she could scream at the top of her lungs, would make the weapons cut into her flesh, and possibly sever one of, if not both, of the main arteries running to her brain. And she had no illusion about removing the swords herself – chances were, her head would be crushed under the motley mace before she could react. Or worse, she would cut

Nabiki was now acutely, and embarrassingly, cognizant of the fact that she just lost control over her bowels as the threat of death not only imposed on her, it had violated her sanctuary, the second time it has happened in as many weeks. In ten seconds, every horrific and negative thought and feeling she had since two days before she and Ranma tied the knot welled inside of her, bubbling into a raging torrent, and flooded her with the emotional cocktail. She openly wept, feeling afraid, humiliated, ashamed, and very, very sorry for herself. Everything was her fault, she knew it, but she didn't want to own up to it. Not totally. If she could redo things…

"Help…" she spoke feebly, tears streaming down her face and soaking her pillow and hair. "Help me… someone, please… help… me…" Only death that the weapons promised her paid her heed, kissing her flesh lovingly.

* * *

"Wow, it's almost one," Ranma commented as he glanced at the clock on the far wall. It had been over three hours since he had set first foot in the dojo in almost a week. Absently, he wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, grinning to himself. He had been nonstop in his practice, flowing from one kata into another and another, and tired, he may have been now, it felt great. His mind did not clutter with tons of worrisome, wandering thoughts as it did whenever he tried to exercise in the backyard. He didn't think about his father no longer living with the Tendos, he didn't think about his marriage and the various difficulties that crept up with it, and he most certainly did not think about what Nabiki told him last night. It was just him and doing the one thing he loved to do – the Art. It was pure, relaxing, and attentive. It was the core of his being, a lover which he was most intimate with. All his troubles faded away in the midst of its very essence. There was no strife, there was only—

The hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood up on end, shattering his serenity. Ranma involuntarily shuddered as the chilling sensation clawed down his spine. Something was horribly wrong…

"Nabiki?" He wondered for a moment why her name came to the fore of him mind, even as his feet snapped him out of the dojo automatically, if a little jerkily. Movement caught the corner of his eye, but he was too slow in his reaction to see exactly what – or who – it was disappearing over the wall. His battle instincts cried out to track down the distraction, but his other feeling – the one that dragged him outside – rallied his mind back to his original purpose with renewed urgency.

Quick as a flash, Ranma bolted into the house. He barely registered the squat table in his path as he kicked it away. Bounding up the stairs four steps at a time, he swung over the banister and into the upstairs hallway. Reaching Nabiki's room, he checked her door with his shoulder powerfully. It gave way too easily under the force, breaking it parts to make way for him. The room flooded with light immediately as he tagged the wall switch. His heart froze at the sight greeting him.

The silence tore at his ears. A trinity of deadly weaponry surrounded Nabiki's head. He could see a red line forming where one of the swords touched. The bonbori pushed down on the blades. A slow decapitation. Or at least—

"Help… me…"

Later on, he would admit that he couldn't even remember moving, let alone acknowledging the presence of the other family members and his own father, but almost instantly he was there beside Nabiki, tossing off the cold steel holding his wife hostage and cradling her to his body. It took a few moments for her to recognize what had happened to her, but once her mind made the connection, all she could do was cry into his body, trembling all over. He tried his best to calm her down, while one thought echoed in his mind, growing hotter and hotter until it erupted into an inferno.

_Shampoo…_

_TBC_


	6. Windup To Sleep

**_Ranma 1/2 and all related characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi. No disrespect intended for this simple fanfic._**

For Better or For Worst-Case Scenario

Chapter 6

Windup to Sleep

"Genma, old friend, this has gone too far!" Soun paced around on the porch, sucking a cigarette down to the filter in one deep drag. He crushed it into the ashtray on the banister among its half-score of brothers, then snapped his pack out. A sharp thump against the heel of his hand, and he snagged a fresh stick of cancer between his lips. Adding flame to the naked tobacco at the end, he took another heavy drag and exhaled a cobalt plume through his nose.

"I know." For his part, Genma was seated on the steps, looking up at the sky. Absently, he drummed the fingers of one hand on the wood beneath him while his other slowly hung limply in his lap.

"And you!" Soun turned on his heel. "You were in the other room; why didn't you stop the intruder?"

Genma regarded his friend. "I was asleep like everyone else."

"You were supposed to be reconstructing the old room!"

"I finished early. Thank to Ukyo's help this afternoon, we got the bedding and other furniture out of the dojo sooner, so there was no problem."

Despite everything that was going on, Soun was unable to keep his face free of a hinted smile. "So, it's truly completed?"

"Yes, it is."

"Mm. How you managed to work these past few nights in that room and not disturb anyone's sleep, I'll never know." He sat down beside Genma. "I had hoped to give them that present in a happier time."

"We make due with what we have. After all, we survived the Master."

Soun shuddered. If fortune should ever look in his direction and ask to grant his one heart's desire, never seeing the Master again would be one of the top three choices. Then his mind linked back to Cologne and her granddaughter and the placated anger surged again. "We should strike the Amazons down now."

Genma glanced at Soun. "No, let it be for tonight."

He looked at his friend in open shock. "Are you mad? They tried to kill my daughter!"

"I don't think that was the intention." He pushed his glasses up on his nose. "If they really meant harm, would they not have struck her down already and be done with it?"

Soun frowned; he had to agree. "These Amazons are a complicated lot with their own damnable rules."

"I know, but look at it this way. It could be some kind of warning, or… or a strange way of granting good fortune upon her marriage." Another look at Soun told him exactly what he thought of the last. "Yes, very unlikely."

"Highly," Soun said dryly.

"Hm." Genma folded his arms. "At any rate, let the boy deal with it. His responsibilities, his future, his call."

Soun scowled. "After tonight, I don't feel so reassured."

"A mistake on his part. He won't make the same one again." The portly man stood. "Come, let's share a drink. It'll calm your nerves."

"Pardon my rudeness," Soun spoke as he stood beside his friend, his small eyes cutting towards him. "But how can you be so certain of your son's capabilities?"

Genma spared a glance back as he walked into the house. "Because he's my son," he said, one corner of his mouth turning up. "He's too stubborn to lose."

* * *

"Tch! I'm going to kill Shampoo!" Akane raged under her breath as she helped Kasumi clear off the soiled sheets to dispose of them properly. Cuts and accidents could be repaired or cleaned, but memory would make them reek.

"I'm sure she's only doing what she thinks is right." Kasumi idly commented as she essayed the damage the swords had caused to the mattress. Her cheek still ached from Ranma's accidental punch yesterday morning. Thankfully, the swelling had gone down, and there was no promise of an ugly bruise marking the site. She hated to think of the results if that blow was intentional and more powerful.

"Doing what's right? What's right is for her to keep her nose out of my sister's affairs and not try to kill her!"

"True in different times." The older sister touched her finger to the incisions. "However, things are more complicated now. There's too much difficulty in doing the right thing when you feel wronged, so instead, we do what we think is right." Though she said them aloud to Akane, the words were really meant for herself.

Akane gave her sister the odd eye. "What are you talking about?"

Slowly, Kasumi withdrew from the mattress, though her eyes never left it. It should have been a simple thing two weeks ago. How did things get so out of hand? All she wanted was for Nabiki to have respect for relationships and marriage. Just hearing how her sister toyed with Ranma and Akane before made her blood boil; she let the matter slide, then, figuring that things would work themselves out in the end.

However, the situation escalated rapidly with Ranma and Nabiki announcing their wedding for the next day, and their fathers racing to get everything set up in time. Akane was crushed to hear the news, and the bride-to-be was flippant to concern. Then she overheard Nabiki setting the pieces to ruin her own wedding and collect on the resulting proceeds.

Quiet, patient Kasumi snapped under the weight of the last straw. She made up her mind to humble her younger sister if it was the last thing she would ever do. And to work she went. Surprisingly, everything she needed came to her, no questions asked and at no charge. It was completely effortless the way she pulled it all together, getting in touch with the right people at the right time, coming across as earnestly and compelling as anyone else… Even now, it astonished her how well her plan succeeded.

And yet, she ultimately failed. What should have been a moment of humility and newfound respect turned into a day of disbelief and celebration. Kasumi could do nothing to stop the monster she birthed – too dumbstruck by the incomprehensible to even fathom that outcome – and it was all downhill from there. She felt stupid and ashamed of what she helped bring about, but that paled in comparison to Akane. She was numb the night of the wedding and most of the next day. It was late at night when the broken girl came to her in private, wanting to know what should she do next. The sight of her defeated and lost youngest sibling made her heart ache and twist even more, so Kasumi prescribed something that, even now, she didn't know why she said it: help the newlyweds celebrate.

In that moment, it felt like the right thing to do, the only that could have been done. Now, she felt like an idiot. What started out as an indirect lesson evolved into a very direct threat on Nabiki's life. "I caused so much trouble…" she mumbled to herself, her hand going to her mouth.

Akane felt the heavy shift in mood. Looking up, she closely regarded her older sister. "Hey, sis… cheer up; Nabiki's safe, and, well, Ranma will get—"

"It'll always be difficult seeing Ranma now, won't it, little sister?"

"Huh?" She mentally tripped over herself. "Um... yeah. It'll be pretty rough, you know, since we were engaged like three days before he got married to Nabiki…" She glanced towards one corner of the room.

The older girl bit her lip, then looked at her little sister. Akane had every right to know what she did. She felt that she deserves any and all consequences to befall her. Perhaps someday she'll be forgiven for her transgression. "Akane, I'm—"

"But," she continued in a suddenly louder voice. They both blinked in surprise at the change in tone, but Akane continued speaking, this time at regular volume. "But it gets easier everyday. And…" She sat on the very foot of the bed, her eyes unfocused on the floor. "Truth be told, I think when you get down to it, Nabiki really could use him in her life."

Kasumi was wide eyed in surprise. "Akane…"

"I'm not saying it's right or fair…" She balled up her hands. "But sometimes, things just happen some way, and… and we get caught up in everything, and… well…" Akane tried suppressing the wetness of her eyes with the back of her hand. "It's kind of like what you said. We go and do what we think is right, even if it's not..."

The young woman took a deep breath and forced herself to relax. "Sorry, sis, I'm babbling."

"No, it's all right," Kasumi smiled at her little sister. "Truthfully, I wish I had some of your inner strength."

The comment left Akane confused as well as blushing a little. "What? No, I'm not really strong…" She held the back of her neck as she stood up again. "All I do lately is cry and wonder about why people do the things they do…"

Reaching out, Kasumi hugged her firmly, catching her target off guard and embarrassing her even more. "Believe me, you're perhaps the strongest one here." She pinched her eyes shut, a few tears freely rolling down her cheeks.

"Sis…" She responded in kind, holding onto her oldest sister/mother figure, shredding a few silent tears of her own.

* * *

_Karma._ The word echoed inside of Nabiki's head over and over again as she laid in the bathtub, staring though the ceiling as if to try and find the gods laughing at her in the clouds. Right now, she couldn't fault them for all that had happened in the last few weeks. In fact, on some level, she even felt that she got what she deserved – she gingerly touched the gauze pads taped to either side of her neck in memory of tonight – if not more.

She should have never done the things she did to Ranma and Akane. She should have been smart enough to refuse her sister's impassioned outburst of transferring the engagement over to her. She should have not made Ranma get so involved in her little game. She should have let things be.

Worse yet, she should have listened to Kasumi. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply. Kasumi was right all the time, and Nabiki snubbed her for her own amusement. In the end, any anger, past or present, towards older sister had no leg to stand on. She couldn't blame her for ruining the wedding sabotages she crafted. She couldn't blame her at all…

Languidly, she turned her head towards the bath entrance. Ranma sat nearby on the bath stool with his back to her. It was funny; the very person she wronged most was also the one to come to her rescue when she needed it. Normally, she would call such a guy a sap, and two weeks ago, that would have fit Ranma perfectly. Lately, though, she had to wonder if she was really the sap here.

She studied him for a few minutes. Crass, arrogant, immature, egotistical… Nabiki could think of more words to describe his flaws and failings in detail. And yet, there was something about him that had been drawing her into his life. At one point, she would have said his heroics were the culprit, but now…

"Ranma."

"Hm?" He tilted his head, but didn't look at her.

Unexpectedly, she felt her heart twist at the action, and it derailed her line of questions. "Are you angry with me?" Inwardly, she cringed as the words came unbidden out of her mouth.

The question had the same kind of effect on him, though for a different reason altogether. "Angry? Why would I be angry?"

"I don't know. But if you're not angry, why won't you look at me?"

"Because you're taking a bath."

The clenching feeling ebbed at the new revelation. Nabiki felt relieved. "We're married; you have the right."

"No."

"Huh?" She could feel her heart being squeezed again, and his response confused her even more. "What? Don't you find me attractive?" Again, she wanted to dunk herself under the bath water as her mouth made another automatic response without consulting her.

"…What does _that_ have to do with anything?" Ranma had almost turned around in shock. A last second reminder of where he was kept him at bay.

"Were you lying when you said I was cute?" It was obvious some alien entity had taken over her mouth, because she wasn't thinking about _any_ of this, let alone wanting to talk about it.

"Of course not! Some days you're more than cute."

Even without seeing his face, she could tell he was getting frustrated and annoyed with this line of talk. However, she was beyond control here. "Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying!"

"Then why won't you look at me?"

"I'm trying to respect your privacy!"

A jolt went through Nabiki's body. Amazed, she gazed at him. "'Respect my privacy'? But Ranma, we're—"

"That doesn't mean anything."

Her heart skipped a few beats. "B, but—"

"I don't wanna to do something just because I 'have the right.' If you want me to look at you, that's a different story, but I'm not gonna do something you're not cool with. Understand?"

It was a while before Nabiki said anything. Mainly because she had never been so attracted to anyone in her whole life. Opening her mouth would betray her utterly in both words and action. She tried to fight down the urge to seduce Ranma, or let him seduce her. Hell, she was already lost to him, she knew. All he had to do was beckon her over, and he would own her completely. She didn't like the idea of surrendering all her power to him, but strangely, she felt relieved at the same time.

She could trust him, heart and soul. He could do whatever he wanted with her, and she wouldn't care because she knows that he wouldn't try to abuse her, or take advantage of her. Even when she wanted him to do so sometimes, like right now. _I am so in love with you, Ranma._

Her eyes grew wide as she realized what she was admitting. She hastily tried to amend herself, but it sounded a little hollow. A lot, really. With barely a thought more, she stuck with her original message.

Of course, she didn't have to tell him that… at least, not right now. She was in love with him, but Ranma was still being… Ranma. He probably was taking pity on her right now. He found her in was would be – if not _the_, at least one of the top three – most humiliating positions in her life. Pity would be her natural response well before Ranma hit the scene.

No big deal, really. If he didn't feel the same, she could live with that. As long as he was true to her, Nabiki didn't much care what happened after this point. Her spirit rose high above her depression.

"You better love me…" she mumbled, smiling.

The small, happy smile turned into a look of mortification. She realized her mouth just tossed out yet another inadvertent comment. Perhaps she should go find someone to sew _her_ mouth shut instead of Ranma's. Her eyes focused on said person again, and her heart stopped beating.

Ranma was very rigid in posture. His head was almost turned around again, but stopped just shy of looking at her in the tub. But she could see his face in profile. That was why her heart stopped. He definitely heard her slip of tongue. And the anger crossing his face made it clear what he thought about it.

"Ah…" Nabiki wanted to apologize. She didn't mean it like how it sounded in her own ears. Hell, she didn't even know where the words came from. Like a gust of wind, they breezed out of her mouth. Apparently, that same wind managed to steal the rest of her vocabulary when it left. She literally couldn't think of something to say.

"Hurry up. You're going to turn into a prune at this rate."

Ranma's words brought her mind back to the present. He wasn't looking at her now, but his posture was still rigid, unyielding.

Definitely heard her. Definitely angry.

She found her voice. "I didn't mean it that way."

"Mean what?" A hint of venom in his voice. It made her inwardly shudder.

"What I said a second ago."

"Oh, so you didn't mean to sound like you're using me." He paused. "Again."

"No! It's nothing like that at all. I was just—"

"Being yourself. I understand. Perfectly."

Nabiki held the tub rim tightly. "You don't understand…"

"No, I understand perfectly."

"You don't know a damn thing."

"I know _you_ pretty well. That's more than enough."

"Enough!" Fuming, she pulled herself out of the tub. "Listen here, Ranma! I've dealt with more than enough shit tonight; I don't want anymore for the next few minutes!"

He whirled around on the stool to stare her in the eye. "Oh, yeah? Could've fooled me there. Here I am worried about you dying, and you're plotting some way you can milk this for all it's worth!"

"Oh, fuck you!" Her eyes teared up, but she angrily suppressed them. "You think I _want_ your problems following me around? I almost died because of some floozy you didn't have the balls to tell off and send her packing a long time comes after me just because I'm in love with you! She wants you so bad, I'll damn well give you to her!"

Ranma's eyes snapped wide. "What did you say?"

"You heard me! I'm in love with you, and you can't even handle one stupid obsessed bitch! I almost died less than an hour ago, and—"

As Nabiki was quick to discover, passionate kisses and impassioned tirades did not mix. Both demanded full attention, and when push comes to shove, the path of greater resistance rarely won. Add to the fact that Ranma initiated the former of the two, and it was a foregone conclusion she would be lucky to remember her name the moments afterward, let alone continue her venting.

The kiss broke off too early for her. Way, way too early for her. Blood pounded in her ears, flowing through her body like lightning. She was acutely aware of her wet nakedness, but she certainly didn't care. Gasping for air, her lips tried to snap back to Ranma's, but he held her a short distance away. Looking at her for the first time. Just watching his face told her that he definitely liked what he was seeing, and it made her burn for him all the more.

"Um…" Ranma looked her up and down for a moment, then stepped backwards and towards the door. "Finish cleaning up, Nabiki. I'll… I'll be just outside here."

She only managed to blink at the sudden turn of direction. Worse, his action made her even hotter for him. Her hand reached out for him, grasping at invisible strings, trying to will him to stay. But the final clicking of the bath door severed the connection. "No fair…" Nabiki complained in a dazed, tiny voice. "You get me so hot… then leave? Meanie…"

She was in the bath room five minutes longer than normal for her. Once she came out in her bath robe, Nabiki's eyes were slightly glazed, her face flushed. Ranma started to ask her if she was feeling well, but she silenced him with a kiss of her own. Then she groped him blatantly, much to his shock.

"Don't you ever leave me like that again," she practically purred against his ear. "Or, you'll regret it…"

He could only nod dumbly, his face turning a bright shade of scarlet.

"Good." She smiled and withdrew her hand. "Now, let's find some place to sleep."

Ranma found himself reviewing several kata under his breath as he followed Nabiki. He also tried not to get distracted with the sway in her hips. Or the heady, womanly scent that drifted behind her.

* * *

There was a knock at the remains of Nabiki's door. Akane glanced over her shoulder and saw Ranma through one large jagged hole. "Come in."

Ranma poked his head through. "Coast is clear?"

"Yeah." She smiled faintly. "No Amazons coming this way tonight."

"Heh…" He slinked into the room like a cat. "I'll be just a minute."

"What are you doing?"

"Grabbing a few things," he said as he knelt down and rolled up his bed mat. "Nabiki and I are gonna sleep in the dojo tonight."

"Oh! About that…"

"Hm?"

"Kasumi wanted me to tell you two to go into the family room. I think Dad has something to say."

"At this hour? Can't it wait till morning?"

"Don't think so. Kasumi sounded really pleased when she told me."

"Huh." Ranma tucked the bed roll under his arm. "Well, okay. I'll just go put my— Hey, where's my backpack?"

Akane frowned. "I don't know. Dad and your father were in here helping Kasumi throw out Nabiki's bed. Maybe it was put in the closet."

He cocked an eyebrow. "My old man's still here? I thought he went home already."

She shrugged. "Beats me. No one's really told me much aside from go down to the family room soon as you can." Her lips pursed and she huffed a little. "No one tells me much of anything lately."

"Um… look—"

"Don't worry about it, Ranma." Akane flashed him a well-meaning smile. "Do the right thing, and don't worry about what you think is right."

He paused for a few seconds. "Uh, yeah… exactly." Bed roll still under his arm, he padded over to Nabiki's dresser, pulled out a clean pair of pajamas, and left without another word.

Once he was in the stairwell, where Nabiki was waiting for him, he asked her, "Has Akane been reading a lot of philosophy lately?"

"Not that I know of," she responded, taking the pajamas gratefully. "Why?"

He started to open his mouth, then thought better of it. "Forget it. Kasumi wants us in the family room. Mr. Ten—_Father_ wants to say something."

" Wonder what Daddy wants?"

"Dunno. Probably something about Shampoo."

Nabiki reached over and squeezed his clenched hand. "I'm not going to stay up all night bandaging your hand."

He gave her a wry smile. "Yeah… Let's just get this over with."

Taking a few moments for Nabiki to slip into clean clothes, the couple entered the family room, where Soun and Genma sat. The warm aroma of sake wafted through the air. However, neither man looked like they were partaking of the alcohol deeply.

"Where's sis?"

"Disposing of the remains of your bedding," Soun stated, toying with his small cup of sake. "Please, sit down. This is important news."

The two sat down before their respective patriarchs. They glanced at each man, and at each other, wondering what was going on now. Family meetings usually involve the whole family.

"I had hoped to give this to you in the next few days. However, matters and priorities have become complicated, and being that this is an irregular kind of gift—"

Nabiki furrowed her brows together, glancing sidelong to Ranma. He demonstrated no visible reaction. However, he looked at her out of the corner of his eye, and she felt a little fuzzy in her middle.

"—it is decided that perhaps now is not such a bad time to present this to you. I cannot allow my own family to go without a proper room for sleep."

Now Ranma frowned, but he didn't say anything.

Soun cast his eyes directly at Ranma. "This will serve as a temporary matter, though it may be for a long period of time."

"'Temporary?' What is this thing you're talking about, anyway?"

Soun straightened his posture, smiling at him, then to Genma, who crossed his arms over his chest and nodded in that smug, confident way. Obviously, Ranma gained his arrogance from his father. "Thanks to my old friend, we have constructed for you a more fitting bedroom to share with my daughter."

* * *

"Ranma?"

The only response Nabiki got was a light snore as the two slept in the newly-remade room. Carpet the shade of amber had been laid across the wooden floor. A bookcase meshed against the far corner of the room, directly abreast of the headboard of the oversized bed neatly centered under the windowsill. Honey-hued curtains – something that was never worried about when Ranma and his father slept in the one-time guest room – were drawn closed. A night stand sat close by to Nabiki's side of the bed, a small electronic clock face glowing turquoise luminance.

She rolled over in the firm and unyielding bed, pushing back the slate blue bedcovers as she sat upright in bed, then looked down at Ranma. He was lying face-up, eyes closed, arms slightly spread apart from his head. For a moment, she had a rude image of sharply pushing him out of bed and onto the floor. The thought had been suppressed with little effort. After all, this was their room now.

Their own room.

She sighed, shaking her head, a wry smile on her lips. It was a pain in the ass convincing Ranma that it was for the best they slept in the same bed. He finally bowed to her superior logic once she made it a point to mention that if someone were to come for her again, he may be too late to act from the bed roll that had remained unfolded in the opposite corner of the room. Sometimes she wondered just why did he feel so moved to being chivalrous at the oddest times.

Sighing again softly, Nabiki laid her head on his chest, drawing one arm around his waist. She remained this way, trying to get her thoughts to swirl into complacency. Shampoo had attacked her. Ranma and their fathers were going to deal with it in the morning. Shampoo will never bother them again.

It should have given her piece of mind that it was under control, but it didn't. The trinity of weapons encasing her head still made Nabiki shudder, but something about it didn't make sense. She could have been slain whenever; why do it that—

Ranma suddenly shifted, startling Nabiki. His arm began to move, and she started to lift up and let it go on. However, against the weight of Nabiki's body, it ended up pulling around her shoulders, drawing her closer.

Her eyes were wide for a few moments as Ranma held her firmly in place. She reached up and pinched his nose closed for an instant. He didn't stir.

"Still asleep…" Her voice was noticeably depressed.

Then Nabiki mentally slapped herself. Just because she was ready to admit love didn't mean he felt the same. Hell, there was still a chance that he only behaves a certain way because of a situation. His adaptability skills would be legendary had he taken to being a socialite instead of a martial artist.

Whatever the reason, she shouldn't expect him to love her back. Nabiki didn't even feel the need to obligate him for that. So long as he stayed with her, that would be enough for her. At least for now.

On that thought, she let all worries slide into nothingness. She cuddled with him, feeling his warmth transferring over to her. She smiled a little, kissing his shoulder very lightly.

"I love you…" Nabiki spoke, as the need for sleep pounced upon her. She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand.

"It's okay… " Her eyes closed.

"…if you don't feel…" Her hand balled into the hem of his pajamas. "…the same way."

Soon, her snores found their own voice.

In the illuminated dark, one of Ranma's eyes cracked open, the iris rolling down to look at the sleeping young woman. It drifted over her slumbering form from head to foot, then back to her face. His eye closed to sleep again, his hand tightening ever so slightly on her shoulder.

_TBC_


	7. My Last Consort

**_Ranma 1/2 and all related characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi. No disrespect intended for this simple fanfic._**

For Better or For Worst-Case Scenario

Chapter 7

My Last Consort

Morning drew up upon the Tendo house sooner than it should have, or at least that's how Nabiki felt. Her eyes unwillingly opened to face the muted sunlight doggedly trying to barge its way into the room without impediment. She yawned, her brain taking some time to get the rest of her into gear.

She coaxed one leg after the other to slip from the warmth and comfort of Ranma's body and the bed to—

_Wait a second!_

The brunette jerked back mentally and gave the bed a good look.

There was no Ranma in bed with her. She breathed a sigh of relief, then she mentally smacked herself. There was no Ranma in her bed! He should have been there! He was there last night! She _wanted_ him there!

Her heart scrunched up in panic. Where was he? Where did he go? Why did he—

She had to slap herself physically before she got her wits about her again. She did not go around panicking like a chicken with its head cut off. She wasn't a wimpy, crying, little girl. Or, at least not usually, she had to correct herself. Last night was an exception to the rule. However, she still lived on.

Very much awake now, her cheek stinging slightly, Nabiki took a few moments to get suitable attired before heading downstairs to see if Ranma was there. However, she found no one downstairs but Kasumi who was scribbling something down on a pad.

"Oh, good morning, Nabiki," she said, looking up with a smile.

"Morning, sis. Where's Ranma?"

"Oh?" Kasumi put down the pad. "Didn't he say goodbye to you this morning?"

"'Goodbye?' For what?" Nabiki gave her older sister an awkward eye. Why would Ranma want to say goodbye to her?

"He and his father went to see Shampoo at her place of work."

"Really? I thought he would take Daddy with him for that."

Kasumi resuming her writing. "Father was willing, but Ranma felt that he would be best suited for defense of the home."

_More like he didn't want Daddy getting in the way,_ Nabiki mused, a little surprised she was getting angry over the thought. True, her father may not be quite the fighter now as he supposedly was back in his heyday, but still…

Dismissing the thought, Nabiki pried on. "Akane went with them, too, then?"

"No," Kasumi responded in the same tone of voice that she uses whenever their little sister tried to do some cooking in the kitchen. "She's at school. She did want to stay with you, though."

"Mmm… well, she wouldn't have been much company after Shampoo's attack last night." Saying that, Nabiki started to leave.

"Nabiki?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you like to help me with the grocery shopping today?"

Nabiki stopped partway out the room, looking back in at her sister oddly. "Uh, why?"

"I would imagine that, with you being married to Ranma, you would wish to understand…" She looked up. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be presumptuous."

"Oh, presume away. Anyway."

"It's just that…" She bit her lower lip.

Nabiki sighed loudly, walking back in. "Stop worrying so, sis. I know you're really worried and all, but at this rate, you're going to start inviting me to the toilet every time you need to pee."

"I'm just so worried about Shampoo."

"Huh?" Her brows doubled over in concentration. "Why are you worried about _her_?"

"She is a fragile girl, no matter how she may seem."

"Yeah, about as fragile as a mountain."

"She is not so strong as to withstand pressure on her heart."

Nabiki sucked on her bottom lip for a moment. "Look, sis. While I can imagine you are in tune with every aspect of Shampoo's romantic notions—"

Kasumi ducked her head in a bow. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to pry again."

"No… no, It's not your fault. Just that… Shampoo's got her own issues and she's the one that can't deal with the fact that it's over. There's nothing she can do, short of killing me."

The older woman nodded sadly. "That is what worries me more. If she did… if she did kill you… she would kill herself, too."

Neither woman moved for a long moment. Finally Nabiki turned away. "I need to take a bath, sis."

She let her go on, not looking at anything. "Please, Mother…" she said under her breath. "Watch over your daughter Nabiki."

* * *

"Son."

"Yeah, pops?"

"Perhaps we should give this more thought."

"Give what more thought?"

"Confronting the Amazons head-on like this. It is a reckless plan."

"I'm not confronting the Amazons. Just Shampoo."

Genma coughed. "Son—"

"I should have done this a long time before all this mess got started. Now I don't have a choice but to deal with it now. Someone's gonna die if I don't."

The older man studied his son carrying a cloth bag slung over his shoulder for a few moments as they marched towards the Cat Café. "You've truly grown, my son."

The compliment caught Ranma off-guard. He stopped to look at Genma, a question forming in his eye. Genma clapped a hand on his shoulder before he could voice it, though.

"Truly, you are becoming more and more a man every day now." He smiled. "So, let's end this madness."

Ranma grinned. "Yeah. Let's."

The two men traveled for a while longer until they came upon the Cat Café building. "All right," Ranma said, standing before the restaurant. "Let's settle this once and—"

"Actually," Genma interrupted, drawing Ranma's attention. "You go in and confront Shampoo."

A snake of anger rose unwillingly. "Wait a minute, pop, I thought—"

"As you said, this is something you must deal with."

"Why're you're chickening out now?"

"I am not 'chickening out.' This is your own battle, your own path to manhood. However," he saw the venom forming from behind his son's lips. "This is not the time to abandon one's blood without need."

He pursed his lips. "What're you getting at?"

"I will assist when needed. Until then, you are capable of killing the poison with your own strength."

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Ranma knew that his father was making sense. Become a man, solve your own problems. However, it felt weird to hear those words from someone who had done decidedly less than manly things himself. It felt stranger knowing that he had been more dependent on his father in a tough pinch.

He snorted and shook his head, the pigtail snapping against his back. "All right, but don't go getting yourself into too much trouble now. I ain't bailing your old ass out of a fix."

"Heh…" Genma grinned a little too mischievously. "They'll never see me."

"Hah, I doubt that."

The men broke up with Ranma stepping through the front doors of the restaurant. A few customers were seated, enjoying their bowls of noodles with various meats and vegetables. A quick scanning of the premises turned up no Shampoo hopping to and fro tables. Another perimeter check revealed no obvious traps. A third scan had him lancing out one arm to snare a length of weighted chain, snapping it around his forearm and holding fast. "Afternoon, Mousse."

"Saotome!" the blind waiter fumed, balancing a tray of noodles in his free hand. "What are you doing here?"

"Came looking for Shampoo, dunce. What are you doing here?"

Mousse grunted, dropping the weapon and take a moment to serve a waiting customer who was startled to see a fight break out. "Doing Shampoo's job. She's still not back."

Ranma frowned, shaking the heavy chain free from his arm. "What do you mean she's not back?"

The near-blind Chinese adjusted his spectacles in arrogant attitude. "If you don't know, I'm most certainly not going to tell you."

"You better start talking if you know something, Mousse."

"I. Refuse. Not as though you can beat it out of me."

He bristled, cockiness roaring forth his posture. "Wanna bet?" He cracked his knuckles in a tight fist.

Just then, a wooden spoon smashed into Mousse's temple, knocking him over. "Mousse! Stop flirting with the customers and get back to work!"

He cursed. "I'm not flirting with anyone!" He was rewarded with another spoon that cracked him across the throat. He fell to one knee clutching the damaged area, gasping hard for breath.

"No more backtalk! Now, get back to—"

Cologne had come out from the kitchen to berate the Chinese boy further, but stopped upon seeing Ranma. "Ah, Ranma. I'm surprised to see you here. I would have assumed you would wish to not see us again."

"After the stunt Shampoo pulled last night? You're crazy _and_ senile, you old crone!"

The wizened old woman regarded him much as she had Mousse a moment ago – a belligerent child. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. Shampoo hasn't been in the area for a few weeks now, and is not to return for another week."

"That's a damn lie, and you know it!" As proof, he tossed the bag open, divulging the three weapons that imprisoned Nabiki last night. "Where're you hiding her?"

For the first time in a long time, Ranma saw Cologne's eyes widen almost in fear and then narrow severely.

"Where did you get these from?"

"Ask Nabiki; she found them pinned around her head last night."

A specter could not have appeared more pale and lifeless as Cologne at that moment. "How, exactly?"

He bristled, though one brow quirked in some confusion. "What does that matter?"

Cologne chose to not answer. Instead she knocked Mousse, who was starting to breathe again, flat onto his back, picked up the weapons, and arranged them into the exact pyramid form around her unsuspecting subject. "Were they set up like this?"

Now, he was thrown off. "Well, yeah… but—"

The weapons disappeared in the blink of an eye. Mousse had been propped up onto his feet again, holding his neck gingerly. Cologne turned her back to Ranma.

"Leave," she simply said. "Mousse, close up the restaurant."

"Hey! What gives?"

"Ranma," Cologne spoke with slow, measured words. "This is none of your concern now. Leave, and don't return here."

"Like hell!" One foot skidded back like lightning, and his hands turned into fists.

She spared him a glance before disregarding his violent intentions. "Now is not the time for melodramatics, Ranma. You will leave here now."

He growled at the slight, and started to move. However, he found himself eye-to-eye with his father, as though he just appeared from thin air. His face was neutral and unassuming.

"Pop!"

"Let us leave. This is not our place."

* * *

The walk home wasn't fruitful, as Genma told his son everything he noticed and discovered. Most importantly, Shampoo hadn't come back to the Cat Café in some time. Ranma fumed impotently.

"And that mummy acts like this is Shampoo's fucking idea! 'I don't know where she is.' 'What are you doing?' That old bitch got her hidden away somewhere!"

"Are you certain of that, son?"

"I know it is! What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"Just a thought. Shampoo is the one you slighted. If it were Cologne's idea, then wouldn't she have tried something in the restaurant?"

"Feh! Like that dried-up plum can do anything about me and Nabiki. She already tried once to make me marry her grand daughter, and I put a stop to that!"

"Exactly." Genma was smug. "You've defeated Cologne magnificently, and she would never again meddle in your romantic life."

"You're damn right she—"

Genma chuckled as a ton of bricks crunched Ranma into realization. Some days, even his cleverness surprised him.

His son swore so loudly, a flock of bird raced away from a nearby tree. "This is Shampoo's idea?!"

"I would imagine so."

"Dammit! What's gotten into that crazy chick?!"

"That, my son, is what we must deliberate on. On full stomachs, of course."

* * *

Nabiki inhaled deeply as she dried herself off and threw on her bathrobe. Perhaps she should have taken Kasumi up on her invitation. It wasn't as if she had planned on anything to keep herself occupied.

Well, there was her new room… correction she and Ranma's new room. How the hell did their parents manage to redesign and construct it under their noses without their acknowledgement? Some things still boggled her mind about her family at times.

Opening the door, she crossed Kasumi as she was scribbling down a list on a small notepad.

"Enjoy your bath, Nabiki?"

"Mm hmm…" She peered over her sister's shoulder. "Could you pick me up some Boba tea while you're out?" She cut off her sister before she could say something about money. "I'll reimburse you when you come back."

Kasumi shook her head. "Honestly, I don't understand why you would want something like that."

"Blame Junko. She introduced it to me."

She went rigid at the name. "…please… please tell me she didn't…?" Kasumi couldn't finish the sentence; she was turning red way too fast to keep talking.

Nabiki grinned, despite herself. "Yes, there was a comment about her loving to suck the balls through a fat straw."

The most Kasumi could do was lift a hand that begged no more comment. "I… will… _never_… understand today's Japanese girl."

"So, will you—"

"Only because I love you. _Only _because I love you."

* * *

"But, Cologne—"

Mousse was normally inured to the elder's disavowing silence. After being raised in a culture that heavily emphasized the woman, her physical prowess, and birthright to lead, while relegating the male counterpart to more menial domestic tasks and occasional breeding bulls, it was to be expected. For the most part, he never thought one thing was wrong about it.

However, with the rapidity Cologne was moving throughout the kitchen after having an apparent bombshell gift hand-delivered to her, he had to question what it meant. It was a simple pyramid of toys to him, and pretty crude in the end; he could construct a more lavish setup with chains and yo-yos. So why was the old woman so brutal and severe?

"Cologne!"

"Never raise your voice at me, Mousse." She never spared him a glance, but her words alone made his legs quiver, as though the bones within were being turned into pudding.

"I-I don't understand. What's going on? Where is Shampoo?"

Abruptly, Cologne whirled on him, the gnarled end of her cane punching him dead-on in his sternum. Mousse skimmed air over a table and crashed heavily onto his back, grunting a mixture of surprise and pain. Blinking, he found his attacker standing on his chest. She barely weighed more than a child, but he found himself gasping for breath in short order.

"Listen well, Mousse. I will only say this once…" Her owlish eyes narrowed in firm concentration on the young man, stilling any objections he might have raised. "You will obey me, to the letter, on what we are to do about his unexpected development. No questions, no protesting. My will is your aim, and all you can do is serve me until no more need be done. Is that understood?"

He grunted in discomfort, and tried to open his mouth. For his trouble, the pointy end of Cologne's staff pressed a little too firmly against the hollow of his throat.

"I understand your spirit, but this is not the time to argue with me." She looked at him with an uncharacteristic softness, almost maternal in vibrancy. It went unnoticed. "Lives are very much at stake, so please, help me as I need it."

He bit the inside of his lip at that. Puckering his mouth inwardly, Mousse slowly unwound his tension. "What do you need for me to do, Cologne?"

The old woman stepped off his chest. "Prepare to kill Shampoo."

* * *

Soun was enjoying a nice smoke outside. The sun was warm and inviting, the day was crisp. Even the water in the backyard pond looked more like a mirror, it was so still.

He let himself reminisce for a minute, thinking back to when he and his wife would sit out here, watching the day pass by. Of course, it was well before they had children of their own. He had inherited the house for his father, who also took pride in the martial arts.; however, he never saw fit to teach his son the art, as apparently, young Soun had chosen otherwise when he was still an infant. "Choose the fist and live, my son, or choose the ball and join your mother, boy" it had been explained to him later in life. Soun had chosen the ball and played on.

As a result, his father ostracized him from his life, never acknowledging him beyond the simplest of things. Never was he a human, just property to be kicked out of the way whenever it was in the way. The neighbors' pets were accustomed to far better treatment that his own father afforded him. Nevertheless, Soun sought to prove himself to the older man day in and day out. Though he loved his mother, he could not become what she wanted him to be – a doctor, or an accountant. He wanted to become a better man than his father in the Art.

When Soun was fourteen, his mother died from what could only be described as SADS – Sudden Adult Death Syndrome. Some closer to her would say she died of grief for her son. No matter, Soun mourned her passing, but his father was like ice. "And this is the fate you ascribed yourself to, boy." Those frozen words sparked an inferno in young Soun, and he declared that he will leave home and return a strong fighter, stronger than even his father.

"Do that, and you will own all that I have."

For five years, he struggled and trained with the toughest of men, learning the Art. He was so enflamed that he surprised and surpassed every expectation had in him. At the end of the five years, a grown man of nineteen years, he returned home to confront his father.

They stood out in this very backyard – there was no pond at the time – to do battle. The squared off, measuring each other. And then—

CRACK

Soun slumped over, a knot swelling on the back of his head.

"Sleep," Shampoo spoke softly as she pulled the man into a posture to foster the image of one who has dozed off. Stubbing the cigarette on the porch, she dropped the butt down in the grass. And without a look backwards, the Chinese girl slipped inside the Tendo residence.

* * *

Dressed in simplistic jeans and a tee shirt, Nabiki came downstairs. She made a beeline for the kitchen.

"You know, maybe I should have went off with sis after all."

"It no matter."

Nabiki's blood chilled. The quiet voice was behind her, but she would not turn around. She refused, in fact, to empower it anymore than it was already allowed.

"It's no big deal to sneak around in the middle of the night either, is it?"

"Challenge must be delivered."

"A challenge."

"Final challenge. You no live."

Nabiki swallowed hard. Blinked hard. "Funny you challenge someone that can't fight back."

"It no matter. Challenge not of fight but of honor. Take Shampoo honor, must be challenged."

"Bull. You just want revenge."

"Revenge not only reason."

And on that, Shampoo's sword slipped around Nabiki's head, the sharp steel hovering close to her throat.

"Final challenge. We no live."

* * *

"So, this is were I'm to die? In my own backyard?"

Shampoo had marched Nabiki, broadsword holding her life hostage, out of her house and into the backyard. This is how they remained standing for the better part of five minutes.

"Not kill in home. Taint home. No taint sister. Only Shampoo."

"Funny… you respect my little sister's life, but not—"

"No mistake. Older sister."

Nabiki bit her lip. "Kasumi…"

"Respect, yes?"

"She's the one—"

Shampoo looked at the back of Nabiki's head for an odd moment. "Say something?"

"It's nothing. You leave her out of this."

"Shampoo do. Kill here."

"Good. Now we got that out of the way, why do you want me dead so badly? You could have killed me last night?"

"Coward way."

"Like sticking your damn weapons around my head was any better!" She bit off the rest of her explosive fury; she felt the blade quiver serenely against her throat.

"Challenge delivery. No choice."

"Bullshit… you always got a damn choice."

"Never choice. Only do."

Nabiki forced herself to not cry. "Dammit, Shampoo… you're so hard up for revenge that you want to kill a pregnant woman?"

It suddenly grew unnaturally quiet. Nabiki herself didn't know why she had said it, but the thought, long since buried, roared to the surface. Was she really pregnant? It wasn't something she put a lot of credence in since before Kodachi's blackmail plot.

Was this… her sense of motherhood forming?

The silence started to hurt her ears after a few moments more. "Shampoo…?"

A roar of violence escaped right behind her head, and stars burst into full bloom in Nabiki's sight. She felt weightless for a moment, just before she ate grass and dirt, spiraling vehemently across the yard.

"You lie! You lie! Ranma no give you child!"

Nabiki forced herself to rise up on one elbow, and she spat out earth to gasp in horror at her captor. A wave of vengeance descended upon the Amazon, mixed in with her tears that went unnoticed, and became vices of murder and depravity.

She evolved into an emotional monster.

"Oh gods…"

Like lightning, Shampoo pounced upon her, sword forgotten, and struck with her fingers like claws, grabbing, clutching at Nabiki's throat, squeezing tighter and tighter.

"Wo xi ni! Wo xi ni!!"

The sky and everything turned rapidly purple, bleeding darker and darker. The very air and sounds were suffocated. Nabiki tried to break her grasp, but was no match for her towering rage. Her strength drained, she started to let go of life.

"WO XI NI!!"

And then, it was all over. Nabiki no longer felt Shampoo's hands on her throat. In fact, she no longer felt Shampoo on her at all. It was peaceful, tranquil.

It was nothing like how she expected death to feel.

"Nabiki?"

Her eyes opened of their own accord, and she found blue eyes staring down into hers.

"Ranma?"

"Yeah. You all right?"

"I'm not dead?"

"No… not dead."

"Okay…"

"You stay here with Pop."

"Why?"

"Cause I'm gonna have to stop Shampoo again. She won't. Stay DOWN!" Snarling in staccato, Ranma ripped himself out of her view.

She could hear the sounds of flesh impacting against flesh, but the scream never came. Instead, "Ranma understand. Do all for Ranma sake."

"Goddammit, you crazy girl, stay down! Don't make me kill you here…"

"Shampoo no leave challenge."

And it all clicked into place for her. In moment, everything that had been said to her up until now, made no sense. However…

Nabiki sat up like a shot, accidentally headbutting Genma, who was leaned over her. Her skull throbbed like fire, but she ignored the pain. "Ranma stop!"

"Huh?"

The scene was clear. Shampoo, bleeding from her little mouth, struggling to remain standing, using her now-broken broadsword – the missing part of the blade was a few feet away from Nabiki's head – to push herself upright. Her face was as serene as her voice earlier. She was even smiling, ready to throw herself at Nabiki again.

And Shampoo did – the sword handle barely escaped Nabiki's head by inches, thanks to Ranma shooting out his foot just in time to catch the pommel hard and deflecting the clumsy projectile. Nabiki took no note of it, only of the rationale that laid before her.

"She's trying to make you kill her!"

Shampoo faltered, but said nothing. "Mercenary Girl trick Ranma. No live like pet. Shampoo save Ranma."

"You crazy chick! I love Nabiki, so don't even start that shit!"

Nabiki's heart caught in her throat. Her face burned, and she fought like hell to not duck like an embarrassed school girl.

Shampoo, on the other hand, froze. Like a wax doll. She remained painfully frozen for a moment too long, then, continued advancing on her. "Shampoo know Mercenary Girl trick Ranma. Trick Shampoo. Trick everyone. No love Mercenary Girl. No love… no love IN Mercenary Girl."

"That's enough, Shampoo. This challenge is complete."

Everyone craned their heads towards the new voice. Cologne and Mousse stood in the doorway of the Tendo residence. Soun, still unconscious, was as Shampoo left him.

"I am deeply regretful for what my great-granddaughter has sought to do against all of you. I assure you, this will never happen again." As she spoke, Mousse quietly produced two lengths of chains. He didn't look at anyone, not even Shampoo.

"Yeah, right, old lady. Like you're going to keep her from coming after Nabiki."

"The challenge," Cologne spoke surely to Ranma. "Is at an end. I do not expect you to believe me, but you will most certainly never see Shampoo again."

"Don't!" Nabiki tried to stand, but suddenly got dizzy and had to remain seated. Her skull cried out, and she grabbed where she had slammed it into Genma's face. Still, she carried on with her plea.

The old woman looked older, if possible. However, she remained steadfast, her large eyes glancing towards Nabiki. "This is what she ascribed herself to. An ancient challenge rite that hasn't been practiced in almost a hundred years. She sought this one specifically while away from Japan. This is the path she chose to walk."

"There's got to be another way. Like… like I forgive her or something… she doesn't have to—"

"No more, Mercenary Girl."

Nabiki cut her eyes at the young Amazon. "Shut up, you idiot! I'm trying to—"

"Great-Grandmother right." The normally bubbly girl resembled nothing of her former self. Instead, she stood rigidly like a mannequin, beaten badly, bruises slow to form on her skin. Most of all, her eyes were near lifeless. Like looking into a void of resignation. "Path chosen. No look back."

Ranma bounced his eyes from one player to another, getting more and more confused. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on! What the hell's going on here?"

"A matter that is not of your concern."

"Wait a second! You saying Shampoo's life is not my concern?"

"It okay, Ranma." It took every bit of willpower to walk towards him. All hostility and aggression was gone. She looked like a fragile doll. His instincts growled to life – protect the girl! – but he suppressed them sharply without knowing why.

"It okay." She reached out slowly, winching in pain from the thousands of blows her body absorbed, and touched his bleeding hand. Her eyes held him captive, the weight of her resolve restraining him from conscious action for a moment. All she needed to land a final blow.

One kiss. A bloody reminder of her presence.

And then, Mousse had her giftwrapped in loops of steel.

"Sorry about this, Saotome," he said, his eyes shaded into obscurity; he did not wear his glasses at that moment. "But we must deal with our own lives our own way."

Nabiki noted that Shampoo now held her eyes closed firmly. Resigned and broken, but still hanging onto the one thing she held dear. Her heart.

Never before had the seventeen-year old felt so much grief than now. That it was towards Shampoo tore her apart. She wanted to speak out against the scene falling bare before her, but one look from Cologne silenced her. Ranma, for his part, fared no better. He couldn't even seem to free himself from the spot he stood.

With Mousse now out of the yard and out of sight, Cologne finally spoke. "Farewell, young Saotome. May you have more patience for this world than she." She, too, parted company, disappearing from view unmolested.

Long moments passed by before the silence was broken again. "Ranma? Is that… is that all we can do?"

The indomitable fighter collapsed to his knees, numb with disbelief. Nabiki stifled her anguish, but her tears flowed regardless. Genma did his best to not interrupt their private grieving as he checked on his unconscious friend.

* * *

The newlywed's room. Ceaselessly dark, save for the illuminated digital clock. 10:01 PM

"Ranma?"

"Uhnn?"

A pause. "Did you love her?"

"Dunno… never though about it."

"Hmm…"

They were laying on their bed, clothing changed. His hand bandaged up. Her throat wrapped.

"Think we'll be having a baby, you and I?"

"…dunno."

"Thought you'd be more positive about becoming a parent."

"Well, yeah, but I don't know if you're pregnant."

Embarrassed chuckle. "And I'm too afraid to find out right now."

"Mmm…"

The clock – 10:24 PM.

"Will you love me like you did today?"

"Wh, where'd you think that I love you?"

Nothing harsh, only wistful. "It's all right if you don't… I just—"

"Sorry, it's not, it's not easy to, y'know, love you… I mean—"

"Don't consider a career in politics." One light kiss. "But I know what you're trying to say."

"Sorry… I'm just…"

Laying beside him, her leg coiled around his. Her arm around his waist.

"I think you loved her. Shampoo."

"Huh?"

"I'm not talking romantically. Just that… you love her."

"I dunno. I guess. But—"

"It's okay. It's really okay to say it."

His arm around her body. One hand under his head.

"I still don't get why she tried to kill herself like that. I just don't get it."

Her head on his shoulders. Eyes closed.

"Because she couldn't bear love without you in it. She didn't want to live without knowing you in her life as her most cherished love. I wasn't her plan. You were. She just wanted your face to be the last thing she saw before she died."

His mouth quirked. Eyes heavy with exhaustion.

"Gods, she's stupid. She could have just said it."

"No. Girls are completely different. I think I would have done the same thing."

"Really?"

"If it were me, probably."

"Man, that's crazy."

"I know."

Her hand on his hip. Lips on his collar.

"I really don't know why it bothered me, but you really would have slept with Shampoo."

"What?"

"It's true. Given a better day, you could be laying with her right now instead of me."

"Why you say that?"

"Because she's everything I am. Fragile. Tough on the outside, but fragile inside."

"She's not—"

"She wanted to die at your hand, just so you're the last thing she saw."

"Well, okay… but still that's—"

Wetness against his mouth. Warmth surging through his body. Her weigh on his.

"Understand now?"

"Not really, but… are you telling me—"

"Yes… I think I'm ready for this marriage. To be married to you."

"Um… dunno if I'm ready."

"I know. You still love the hero role."

Pause. His nose flaring slightly.

"You could stop me at some point."

"No. I love you just the way you are… Well, okay, sue me. I can think of a hundred million things I want to change, but you'd just ignore me and do whatever you want anyway…"

"Like this?"

One finger. Shivers dancing down her spine. A soft purr escapes her lips unknowingly.

"Yeah… something like that."

Silence. The clock read 11:17.

"So, is this what marriage is like?

"I don't know. You still want to be the hero?"

"Gods, I don't want to think about saving anyone right now."

Beat.

"You could always save me."

Beat.

"Since when did Nabiki Tendo need saving?"

Beat.

"Since she became Nabiki Saotome." Beat. "She wants to be a little better than before."

11:21. A slit of lunar light on the wall.

"Well?"

"I dunno… what do you want to be saved from?"

Beat.

"How about these clothes I'm wearing?"

11:22. The house softly settling down.

"I think I can do that…"

_Fin_


End file.
